Labuan-KK ferry resumes operations, first trip at full capacity
LABUAN: The Labuan-Kota Kinabalu-Labuan express ferry service officially resumed operations today, restoring a crucial transport link between Labuan and the Sabah mainland after a suspension of more than three years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Labuan-based Kinabalu Express, at full capacity, departed the Labuan International Ferry Terminal (LIFT), which is managed by LDA Holdings, at 10 am, with the return trip from Kota Kinabalu scheduled for May 29 at 8 am. The vessel, operated by Double Power, can accommodate 212 passengers, offering 146 economy and 66 business class seats.
Daily trips will continue from May 28 to June 3 to coincide with the Harvest Festival and school holidays. From June 4 onwards, the ferry will operate every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, with possible adjustments based on demand.
A promotional fare campaign is being introduced from today until Aug 3 in conjunction with the Borneo Flora Festival (BFF), aimed at encouraging ridership. During this period, Malaysian adults can purchase economy tickets at RM35 and children at RM22.50, while first-class fares are RM45 and RM27.50, respectively.
Foreign passengers will be charged RM80 (adults) and RM45 (children) for economy, and RM90 and RM50 for first class. Standard fares will apply starting June 4, with slight increases across categories.
Tickets are available online at labuanpay.my and can also be purchased at the Labuan International Ferry Terminal and Jesselton Point ticketing counters in Kota Kinabalu.
Prior to the pandemic, the route served up to 120,000 passengers annually. LIFT chief executive officer Noor Halim Zaini, when met here today, expressed hope that the ferry's return will spur regional tourism and help revitalise Labuan's local economy.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New Straits Times
2 hours ago
- New Straits Times
Wave of anger could sweep liberals to victory in South Korea election
WHEN then-President Yoon Suk Yeol's martial law decree plunged South Korea into chaos, it plummeted sales at Park Myung-Ja's diner in Jechon and became a turning point for many voters in the town. The 66-year-old chef and restaurant owner is one face of South Korea's North Chungcheong Province, a swing region that has become even more pivotal at a time of deep political polarisation in Asia's fourth-largest economy. "We need to get furthest away from all that martial law drama to get things back to where they were," Park said at her Korean restaurant two hours south of Seoul, adding liberal candidate "Lee Jae-myung looks alright for that." Voters are now looking for the winner of the June 3 snap election to calm the economic and political shocks that have roiled the country since Yoon's December 3 martial law decree led to months of economic downturn and sparked nationwide protests. Park's Chungcheong Province is a key battleground for Kim Moon-soo, candidate for the conservative People Power Party campaigning on deregulations for companies, and liberal Democratic Party frontrunner Lee, who's vowing to bring back stability after months of turmoil. In swing regions such as North Chungcheong Province, where Jechon is located, the ruling conservative party risks losing a big chunk of its vote base with many voters blaming the martial law debacle for weaker private consumption and easing export momentum. Park's business crashed after Yoon's declaration with some of her biggest customers who are local council officials cancelling dinner reservations in groups of five to 10. "The first call I got on Dec. 4 was from a regular customer who does his year-end dinner here every year. I asked him why he is cancelling it, and he said – 'don't you watch news?'" Lee, who defied Yoon's martial law decree, had a 10-percentage point lead over Kim in one of the final opinion polls issued on Tuesday with 45 per cent of voters trusting him to revive the economy compared to 32 per cent for Kim. Conservatives have criticised Lee for a series of criminal cases he faces over accusations of election law violations, corruption, and other issues, but they have struggled to unify behind a single candidate and to distance themselves from Yoon. On Friday, right-winger Kim said voting for Lee would end up "collapsing our economy", hoping to sway voters in small cities such as Jecheon, an inland town of about 130,000 surrounded by mountainous tourist spots, who are looking for a turning point to revive South Korea's fortunes. But the martial law call continues to weigh heavily on conservative chances. "We definitely had fewer customers, especially from office dinners, after the martial law declaration. It did bite us hard," said Choi, a Chinese restaurant owner in Pangyo, a town south of Seoul. "Lee is someone who will uplift more of us who are not doing so well." Consumer sentiment, which dropped by the most since the outbreak of Covid-19 in December, recovered to pre-martial-law levels of 101.8 in May, on expectations of a fresh stimulus package under a new leader. The shock move rattled markets and put the won among the region's worst-performing currencies of the last year, hurt business sentiment even before exporters absorbed the full force of US President Donald Trump's punitive tariff policies. Now, the strains are setting in, as economic tailwinds from the semiconductor boom and reforms in the capital markets in the past few years are fading. Whoever wins the June 3 election will face an economy that contracted in the first quarter, manage negotiations with Washington to avoid high tariffs, and assuage voters such as Park who are seeing their living standards go backwards from elevated grocery bills and weak spending. South Korea's election campaign has been light on policy and heavy on spectacle after twists and turns involving the main candidates. "I wish they had taken housing supply and boosting the domestic market more seriously in their pledges," said 59-year-old Jung Soo-hyeon. "But perhaps because it's a snap election, that kind of in-depth consideration seems to be missing — which is a bit disappointing." Analysts say voters watched economic pledges closely as consumption has been badly hit. A win for Lee could spur "faster economic growth in the short term," Kim Jin-wook of Citi Research said. The Democratic Party "would likely be relatively more keen on providing policy and support for the mid-to-low-income bracket," he added. While both top candidates have pledged to draft a second supplementary budget for the year as soon as the election is over, Lee has also promised vouchers to help local businesses and subsidies for childcare, youth, and the elderly. While Lee has backed away from advocating for universal basic income, some voters including Park, who backed Yoon last time, said they see Lee as most likely to look out for their interests. "Lee's party seems to be willing to give out more to those who are struggling," Park said, emphasising that "change" is important.
The Star
3 hours ago
- The Star
Perak to grow onions in more districts
Domestic crop: Perak cultivates Malaysia's first commercially produced onion. GOPENG: The silver state, which has begun branding its commercial onion cultivation as 'Perak onions', will expand farming to three more districts with a further RM1.4mil allocation from the Federal Government. Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Saarani Mohamad said the pilot project started in the Batang Padang district last year. This would be expanded to the Kuala Kangsar, Muallim and Perak Tengah districts. Perak has the distinction of pioneering Malaysia's first commercially produced onion. Saarani said 'Perak onions' are found to be tasty and sweet. 'This makes them attractive to buyers,' he told reporters at the closing of the Federal Agricultural Marketing Authority (Fama) Fest 2025 at the Rural Transformation Centre here yesterday. Also present was Deputy Agriculture and Food Security Minister Datuk Arthur Joseph Kurup. Saarani said the state would identify the areas that meet the criteria for growing onions. 'The crop requires fertile soil so that it can produce good yields,' he added. Saarani said it was important to ensure the districts have suitable land because onions require the right type of soil to grow quality produce. 'Even though they can be planted anywhere, we need to find the most suitable land because that is what will yield good onions,' he added. Arthur, in his speech, said one of the most commendable achievements is the successful production of Perak onions. He said this success is the result of a collaborative effort between the Agriculture Department and the Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute. 'Thus, the ministry has allocated an additional RM1.4mil to Perak to expand the cultivation area for onions this year,' he said. It was reported in April last year that Perak was the first state in Malaysia to harvest around 2.3 tonnes of the BW1 onions at a site in Kampung Ladang Bikam. Perak is reported to be one of six states that will be the main producer of BW1 onions for domestic consumption. On the Fama Fest, Saarani said he was pleased there had been an increase in participants with more products, more young agropreneurs and higher sales. 'As I mention often, my slogan for Perak is 'plant what we want to eat, eat what we plant, the surplus can be sold or donated.'' 'The goal is to encourage more people in Perak to take up farming, so that we don't have to depend on imports. 'Sometimes we have to wait for chilies from abroad. When our currency drops, prices go up. And sometimes we wait for vegetables or meat from overseas. 'This makes us Malaysians dependent on agricultural products from other countries and that is not good,' he said. Saarani also spoke about the impact of global happenings such as the Covid-19 pandemic, the Ukraine-Russia war and how prices of onions soared in India when it went through severe weather conditions. As such, he said it is important for Malaysians, especially for the people of Perak, to get involved in farming.
The Star
3 hours ago
- The Star
Converging on cashless: Taking the TNG eWallet app on a spin overseas
In the last five years, Malaysia has seen a boom in cashless payments, particularly through e-wallets in the wake of Covid-19 amid rising concerns of over physical contact and the need for safer transaction methods. From the 2024 Bank Negara Malaysia annual report, there were 14.7 billion consumer transactions made using e-payments (consisting of transactions made using payment cards, e-money purchase transactions and Financial Process Exchange or FPX transactions) totalling RM698.1bil. Of this, e-money transactions (consisting of e-wallets and card-based e-money) made up 38% of all e-payments in general. A further breakdown shows that 64% of all e-money transactions is attributed to e-wallets. This means that in terms of the share of e-payment transactions, e-money ranked second only to online banking, which is only slightly ahead at 39%. According to Muhamad Hanif Asa'Ari, director of distributive trade and service industry secretariat with the Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry (KPDN), achieving this took a collaborative effort between the government and private sector. Muhamad Hanif highlighted cross-ministry collaboration to boost e-wallet adoption among retailers, particularly in areas facing connectivity challenges. 'We are proud to apply the principle of a whole-of-government approach, whereby we understand that both the government and the private sectors must work together to achieve our aim of digital inclusivity in Malaysia. 'The private sector alone cannot achieve the growth that we expected without the government's support and vice versa. The government also cannot achieve the policy that we aim for without the support from the private sectors. 'This is the whole-of-government approach to ensure a win-win situation, both for the government and for the private sector,' he said during a talk session titled 'Driving Cashless Adoption and Technology in Rural Malaysia' at the 2025 World Expo in Osaka, Japan. Muhamad Hanif highlighted cross-ministry collaboration to boost e-wallet adoption among retailers, particularly in areas facing connectivity challenges. As part of a whole-of-government approach, KPDN has worked with the Communications Ministry and aligned with telcos to expand coverage in rural areas lacking reliable Internet coverage to ensure inclusion in the digital economy for both urban and rural Malaysians. He further credited the growth to the various service providers operating in the country, along with the campaigning and advocacy conducted by the government via the Retail Digitalisation Initiative (Redi), a programme under the Twelfth Malaysia Plan 2021-2025 aiming to encourage the use of cashless payments by rural small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs). Key collaborators As of 2024, 2.6 million merchants in the country accept e-wallets as a payment method, with Muhamad Hanif citing strong cooperation between the public and private sectors as a key reason for this achievement. The current level of adoption far exceeds the original target of 15,000 merchants by 2025 set by KPDN under Redi. For the upcoming Thirteenth Malaysia Plan, Muhamad Hanif says the Ministry aims to narrow the digital gap, targeting an increase in rural e-wallet adoption from 36.5% to match the urban usage rate of 63.8%. Such collaborations include efforts to onboard merchants for QR payments by e-wallet providers like TNG Digital, the company behind the Touch 'n Go (TNG) eWallet. TNG Digital chief operations officer Mohd Herman Sarbini said that 38% of PayNet merchants were acquired by TNG eWallet. Mohd Herman added that the support from the government through initiatives like eMadani and eBelia have been critical in driving e-wallet adoption by Malaysian consumers. One such merchant is Yiap Phing Phing, director of Penang-based Village Burger, who shared her positive experience in transitioning from a cash-only business that went digital with assistance from TNG Digital. 'Once we went digital, we started seeing things we didn't notice before. 'Before that, we were operating in the dark. We didn't know what sold well, when we were busiest, and who our loyal customers were. 'But now with digital records, we can see it all, like tracking our sales, predicting our busy hours, and giving rewards to our loyal customers. 'This isn't just business anymore, it's strategy,' she said, adding that 'our cash handling got easier, queues moved faster and our daily closing was smoother'. 'Going cashless wasn't just about a payment method. It became a better way to serve our customers, especially during rush hour,' said Yiap. Mohd Herman, who also gave a talk at the 2025 World Expo in Osaka, added that the support from the government through initiatives like eMadani and eBelia have been critical in driving adoption by Malaysian consumers. 'About 25 million recipient of users have benefited from the programme itself. And from there, I think we are the only e-wallet that participated in all six programmes throughout the six years,' he said. Most recently, in early May, TNG eWallet opened registration to Asean travellers planning to visit Malaysia, aiming to let tourists shop like locals and spend at local businesses, particularly SMEs and micro-SMEs. The e-wallet also plans to offer a business-centric wallet in the near future, which would provide SMEs with financial services and lending. It will further be adding an in-app menu ordering feature at supported restaurants, similar to what is offered in the AliPay app, sometime next year. Adventures in Japan TNG eWallet also offers some travel-centric offerings, such as insurance, providing coverage for travel cancellations or loss of deposits, lost or damaged luggage, medical, and personal accidents. This is alongside bookings for both flights and tours or experiences via Firefly and Klook integrated directly within the e-wallet. Visitors from Malaysia will be able to enjoy a familiar payment experience at convenience stores, most major shopping outlets, and certain restaurant chains. There's also the option to get a roaming eSIM for a specific country or region to skip the hassle of fumbling about at the airport to switch in a new SIM card, along with cross-border payments via integration with three separate payment infrastructures, or rails, those being PayNet, Visa, and AliPay+. The QR payment offering is pretty handy from LifestyleTech's experience in Japan while attending the 2025 World Expo, with a solid portion of storefronts in central Osaka accepting Malaysia's TNG eWallet, thanks to local payment provider PayPay's partnership with AliPay+. While certainly not seamless since Japan is still a cash-centric country at its core, visitors from Malaysia will be able to enjoy a familiar payment experience at convenience stores, most major shopping outlets, and certain restaurant chains. For transportation, the various Osaka metro train lines accepted debit and credit cards, though the trams accepted only cash or Japan-specific payment cards. Travellers looking to make QR payments can look for stickers displaying the TNG eWallet, PayPay, or Alipay+ logos, or simply ask the store attendants or retail staff if they accept any of those options. However, it's still a good idea to keep some Japanese yen or a credit card on hand to cover all bases, just in case QR payments aren't supported.
