‘Make river taxi as icon of Sarawak River’
KUCHING: The ‘perahu tambang’ or river taxi should be the icon of the Sarawak River and the boat service should not be stopped despite construction of the Golden Bridge which will soon link the State Legislative Assembly building to Kuching Waterfront.
This was the view expressed by boat operator Ahmad Junaidi, 53, of Kampung Sungai Bedil Besar who had been working as a boatman on the Sarawak River since he was a teenager.
He feared that the boat operators including himself would be affected by the pedestrian bridge, especially those taking passengers from Pengkalan Batu at the Kuching Waterfront.
“However, I am not perturbed by the presence of the bridge and I still believe that people will use my boat service from the jetty at Jalan Gambir to Kampung Sungai Bedil Besar,” he told The Borneo Post when met on his boat yesterday.
“It is much quicker to take the boat and it takes only two to three minutes to reach the jetty at Kampung Sungai Bedil rather than use the pedestrian bridge (the Golden Bridge) by foot which can take 15 to 20 minutes and it could take more time if the person is walking at a slow pace,” he added.
Ahmad’s boat passengers agreed with him, saying if they use the pedestrian bridge they need to drive and park their vehicles at the car park and then walk across the bridge on foot.
He said he had no qualms about the bridge which costs RM35 million to build as it is part and parcel of development for Kuching City.
“In fact, it will instead make Kuching City more beautiful and the bridge has a beautiful design and I am sure it will be a tourist and visitor attraction and a destination,” he said.
Ahmad said the ‘ perahu tam-
However, I am not perturbed by the presence of the bridge and I still believe that people will use my boat service from the jetty at Jalan Gambir to Kampung Sungai Bedil Besar.
bang’ should not only be made the icon of Sarawak River but also be recognised as a heritage especially for the Malay community living along Sarawak River.
“We must preserve our boat, our services as it is already part of our culture and we must portray this image or else it will just be gone. The Malay community here should recognise this as our identity and I am sure tourists love this kind of idea. Why should the bridge be an obstacle to our heritage and our services,” he said.
Ahmad hoped the government would support his stance as all he wanted was to make sure that such a local heritage and his profession be recognised.
“I believe that the ‘ perahu tambang’ is truly the symbol of the Sarawak River even though its appearance can change and transform through time,” he said.
Wanting to be optimistic that his business would be as usual to enable him to earn a decent living, he admitted he did not know when the bridge would be completed and how he would be affected personally.
“I like the job after I inherited it from my father and three of us siblings are doing the service for the villagers in the last 30 years. We do not have fixed customers and currently we charge passengers 50 sen one way,” he revealed.
He said none of his six children wanted to follow in his footsteps and he would continue to carry on his father’s legacy until he cannot do it anymore.
Ahmad said currently only he and his brothers operate the route which they do almost daily.
“I am taking Sunday as my dayoff and my regular customers are not happy with that because they need to go to the city on weekends,” he said as he smiled.
Ahmad operates from 5am till 6.15pm every day except Sundays.
Ahmad Junaidi, boat operator