JOHOR BAHRU, 22 March 2020:
The International Ferry Terminal in Kukup near Pontian was flooded with foreigners believed to be waiting to return home.
This scene during the Movement Control Order period to curb the spread of Covid-19 was captured by Tanjung Piai MP Datuk Seri Dr Wee Jack Seng who uploaded pictures of the scene at the terminal on his official Facebook site.
Wee who is also Deputy Primary Industries and Commodities Minister I said he was alerted of the huge crowd by Kukup residents.
“The Kukup Immigration Checkpoint was congested with foreigners planning to return to their home country.
“The villagers here are worried about the large gathering especially on spreading the virus,” he said in the posting.
Wee said he had contacted Menteri Besar Datuk Ir Hasni Mohammad, the Pontian District Officer and Pontian police chief Supt Mustafa Bakri Salleh to act quickly to control the situation.
Following that, the Menteri Besar ordered the National Security Council and the state immigration look into the matter.
Meanwhile, Johor police chief Datuk Ayob Khan Mydin Pitchay in a statement confirmed the incident and said it involved Indonesians wanting to go home.
“They only want to go back to their home country. There is no need for us to stop them. The ferry from Kukup to Tanjung Balai in Indonesia is always packed with Indonesians.”
The Kukup International Ferry Terminal which was reopened in November last year, has five service slots between Kukup and Tanjung Balai with about 13,000 passengers using the service every month.
Meanwhile, nearly 50,000 Thai nationals working in Malaysia have returned home following the Malaysian government’s decision to impose the MCO from March 18 to 31 to contain Covid-19.
Fourth Army deputy commander Maj Gen Kriangkrai Srirak said it was estimated that, 100,000 Thais were working and 1,100 were studying in Malaysia.
“The authorities have decided to close all entry points of the Malaysia-Thailand border following an increase in the number of Covid-19 cases in the southern provinces of the kingdom.”
Eight land entry points – Satun (Wan Prachan), Songkhla (Ban Prakob, Sadao and Padang Besar), Yala (Betong) and Narathiwat (Sungai Kolok, Bukohta and Takbai) – as well as one sea entry point namely the Tammalang Port in Satun have also been closed.
– Bernama