Thanks for the trip, says Kon Yeow

GEORGE TOWN: The Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow recalled today that he first came to the island in 1980 as a student at Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) on a ferry.

Recalling the “iconic” ferry service, which will be replaced by “fast” ferries on January 1, Chow said he had arrived at the Butterworth terminal after a long bus ride from his hometown of Kuala Lumpur and boarded a ferry for the first time. .

“I remember getting on the ferry. It was packed with people, mostly heading to work on the island. It was lively. There were no bridges then, “he told reporters after a ride on one of the new” fast “boats.

“Every semester break, I would take the ferry to Butterworth back to Kuala Lumpur.”

From Weld Quay (Pengkalan Weld), he and his friends would take the yellow bus from Penang to USM. “Sometimes we would also go in ‘kereta sapu’ (illegal taxi) waiting at the terminal,” he said with a laugh.

Chow graduated with a degree in social studies in 1984 and has called Penang home ever since.
Saying that he had become familiar with ferry service for the past 40 years, he added: “I think we can only enjoy it while it lasts.”

The old ferries, named after islands such as Pulau Langkawi, Pulau Tioman, Pulau Talang Talang and Pulau Angsa, will be out of reach for passengers and cars from January 1, but one of them, the Pulau Angsa, will be used to transport motorcycles before the newer vehicle transporters arrive.

Passengers will travel on “fast” ferries that take just seven minutes to cross the canal instead of the previous 20 minutes.

Chow said the old ferries were part of the “Penang way of life” and proposed that the new ships being considered should “imitate the old ferry design for posterity.”

Accompanying Chow was the chairman of the Penang Port Commission, Tan Teik Cheng, who showed the prime minister what “fast” ferries looked like. PPC is the federal authority that regulates the ports of Penang.

Tan confirmed that the last two vintage ferries would be turned into a restaurant, museum, or other ideas based on subsequent requests for proposals.