Pulau Aur Residents Appeal For Boat Fare Subsidy

MERSING, July 24 (Bernama) -- Residents of Pulau Aur are calling on the Johor government to introduce a boat fare subsidy to ease travel costs, especially for medical needs and family visits.

Currently, a return trip to the mainland costs up to RM210 per person, a heavy burden for many in the B40 income group, according to housewife Hatasa Rabudin, 40.

“I rarely visit my parents in Kampung Teluk Berhala because the boat fare alone is RM105 one way,” she said during a media visit to the island recently.

She recalled pooling RM7,000 with relatives in 2018 to charter a ferry home for Hari Raya, adding that her chronically ill father also has to travel twice a month to Mersing for treatment.

“There’s a village clinic on the island, but more serious cases need referral to the mainland,” she said, urging the state to consider a subsidy similar to Pahang’s initiative for Pulau Tioman residents.

Long-time Mersing resident Masli Sulaiman, 56, added that deteriorating infrastructure has made boat travel the only option even between nearby villages.

“There used to be a land route to the jetty, but now it’s overgrown and the main bridge is damaged. A subsidy would help in emergencies and allow more frequent visits to elderly relatives,” she said.

Village Development and Security Committee (JPKK) chairman Sabinah Md Seth said most locals are fishermen or small-scale farmers without stable income and even a partial subsidy would ease their burden.

Located 76 kilometres from the mainland, Pulau Aur is a popular ecotourism destination and a strategic route for local and international fishing vessels. From July 18–20, 50 Johor Corporation (JCorp) volunteers and six media representatives took part in a coral reef rehabilitation programme on the island.

-- BERNAMA