BY ALVERDTEKOSTER ANYAP & MEDECCI LINEIL
LUNDU: You can soon travel to Indonesia via bus. Thanks to Sarawak as the cross-border bus service is expected to be operational next year.
State Transport Minister Datuk Sri Lee Kim Shin said the bus service from Kuching to Kalimantan passing through Immigration, Customs, Quarantine and Security (ICQS) Biawak-Aruk (Indonesia) will kick off in the next few months.
“Next, we will hold discussions with the Indonesian counterpart regarding the number of bus trips in a day, including completing some other processes such as permit applications.
“We are also working to speed up all those processes to ensure that the route service will operate next year.
“However, the exact period the service will start has not yet been decided because this also involves the Indonesian government,” he said at a press conference, after an official working visit to ICQS Biawak to review preparations at the Lundu District Office today.
Commenting further, he said the initial proposal from the local bus association was to carry out five trips in and out daily for the two countries concerned.
“It is a proposal for the beginning, but if there is an increase in demand, of course the number of trips will be higher from time to time.
“This is because based on statistics from the Malaysian Immigration Department (JIM), the number of people going in and out at the border is the same as at ICQS Tebedu-Entikong,” he said, while suggesting that a port be built to facilitate transport, economic and trade logistics activities.
Commenting on the visit, Lee said it was to ensure that the preparations for the service of the route were smooth and orderly next year, just like the Kuching-Pontianak route which has been operating a few months ago.
Meanwhile, the Consulate General of the Republic of Indonesia in Kuching, Raden Sigit Witjaksono, said the opening of the new route, which includes other types of vehicles, will be able to boost the economy and increase the business and tourism potential of both countries.
“This cooperation is a good opportunity and beneficial to Sarawak and West Kalimantan to further strengthen our trade potentials and understandings of both countries.
“This route will be another main gateway for our people to come and go, especially when bus services and regular vehicles can pass through it later,” he said.
The land journey from Kuching to ICQS Biawak takes about two hours, while from the border to Singkawang is about three hours, while it takes another three hours to reach Pontianak.
The new path also allows people to visit three cities in Indonesia, namely Singkawang, Pontianak and Sambas.
