JOHOR BARU, March 21 — The International Ferry Terminal in Kukup near Pontian was flooded with foreigners believed to be waiting to return home today.
The incident during the movement control order period to curb the spread of Covid-19 was captured by Tanjung Piai MP Datuk Seri 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 Mentri Besar Datuk Hasni Mohammad, the Pontian District Officer and Pontian police chief Supt Mustafa Bakri Salleh to act quickly to control the situation.
Following that, the mentri 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,” he said.
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. — Bernama
