The Transportation Minister has promised to improve the fleet of traditional boats so local communities can continue to operate traditional shipping and water transportation services, also called \'pelra\'.
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MAJALENGKA, KOMPAS – The Transportation Minister has promised to improve the fleet of traditional boats so local communities can continue to operate pelayaran rakyat (traditional shipping and water transportation services), also called pelra. The two-pronged approach to ensuring the continued operation of traditional shipping and marine transportation services involves training 100,000 sailors and providing new boats.
"Pelra is part of local customs, so it must be supported," Budi told Kompas on Tuesday, on the sidelines of his visit to the newly opened West Java International Airport in Kertajati, Majalengka regency.
The minister said earlier that he would meet with a number of parties, including boat owners in Makassar, South Sulawesi, to talk about developing traditional shipping and marine transportation services.
In connection with the training for 100,000 sailors this year, Budi said the training would focus on improving safety. "The other measure is to provide new boats. Last year, the government provided 24 boats. This year, we will provide 100 boats,” he said.
Procuring the 100 boats will cost an estimated Rp 250 billion. "The traditional vessels the Transportation Ministry will build are equipped with a full range of modern safety facilities, including lifesaving equipment, firefighting equipment, navigation, radio communication and pollution prevention, as well as facilities for passengers’ comfort," Dwi Budi Sutrisno, the Directorate General of Sea Transportation’s sea transportation and traffic director, said on Tuesday.
Powerless
Many local governments have been powerless in improving the quality of traditional shipping and marine transportation because of a lack of funds. Pelra operators need government assistance to overcome the imbalance between operational costs and income, as well as in providing safety and passenger comfort.
The Maluku administration’s public relations head, Bobby Palapia, said on Monday in Ambon that the administration did not have any programs to support the rejuvenation of traditional boats or to subsidize their operation. One of the obstacles was the lack of funds. "The budget for Maluku is only about Rp 3 trillion, while its administrative jurisdiction is very wide," said Bobby.
This is ironic, considering that Maluku is an archipelagic province composed of small islands. Many villages in Maluku are located on small islands that are not serviced by large ships, so the people still rely on traditional maritime services. Aside from a minimal fleet, these villages also do not have piers.
For example, the villagers of the Aru Islands, Western Southeast Maluku and Southwest Maluku regencies still rely on fishing boats smaller than 5 gross tons to transport passengers, goods and sick people.
The fishing boats, most of which are owned by local fishermen, do not operate regularly, and depend on need and the availability of fuel. Journeys can take up to 20 hours and risk high waves. Generally, the boats also do not have safety equipment.
Transportation head Alamsyah of the North Morowali Transportation, Communications And Informatics Agency said it would be difficult for the local administration to provide subsidies because of budget constraints. The regency still relied on special allocation funds from the state budget just to build and develop local piers.
The people who rely on tradition maritime services in South Sulawesi also hope to see improved conditions, particularly in terms of safety, especially in the boats serving the Barrang Lompo Island-Makassar route. Not all boats serving the route have safety equipment, such as life jackets.
"The people are highly dependent on the traditional boats. If it is possible, the people hope [the boats] will be equipped with life jackets, because we never know what could happen at sea," said Syarifuddin, 43, a Barrang Lompo resident.
Gusti Asnan, a history professor at Padang’s Andalas University, said government assistance was sorely needed to save the traditional maritime services from its uncertain fate.
Traditional maritime services have provided an important mode of transportation since the Dutch era, but it was neglected.
Gusti said the current government had begun paying attention to traditional maritime services, as reflected in its commitment to train 100,000 sailors and to provide 100 vessels this year (Kompas, 16/4/2018).
"I believe we don’t need to provide training to improve the sailors’ seafaring skills as part of the program. They already provide good services, especially on certain routes that carry regular passengers they know in person,” said Gusti. “Instead, the traditional boat operators wonder how they could provide good services if their boats are in such poor condition. I have even read of a 30-year-old boat [the Amboina Star, which serves the Ambon-Obi Island route]. This boat should have been restored," he said.