MP pledges to provide boat to ferry school children
SANDAKAN: Sandakan member of parliament Vivian Wong Shir Yee visited Kampung Tanjung Aru Island here yesterday.
She said even though the village is not located in her constituency, she felt responsible to provide solution to problems faced by the villagers here because they attend schools in Sandakan.
“I have talked to the villagers and they didn't ask for much; they only want a boat that carries only students to and from school (Sandakan town) daily. I found this request to be completely reasonable because there has been overloaded passenger boat problem here.
“They have no choice. Those who need to go to school have to get on whatever boat that is available, and there is not enough boat. Hence, they often have to get on an overloaded boat.
“If we take the tragedy on Thursday (passenger boat accident) as an example, that boat was carrying three to four times more than its maximum capacity.
“Therefore, we will look into arranging a school ferry or two to cater to over 50 students that need to get to schools in town and back via water route daily. We will study this matter and come up with a solution soon,” she said.
Wong stressed that the villagers in Kampung Tanjung Aru are Malaysians, so they have the right to enjoy basic facilities, such as assistance in their transportation to get education.
She also handed out donation including school equipment to victims who were involved in the boat accident on Thursday.
“For the time being, the most important thing is to make sure that they have life vest on when on a boat, and make sure that the boat is not overloaded,” she added.