TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Natuna Regency is increasingly becoming more isolated after state shipping company, PT Pelni, diverts two of its' ships from the islands to meet the demand of passengers from Java and Kalimantan ahead of the Ramadan holiday season.
"Bukit Raya and Lawit have been diverted to serve Kalimantan and Java, as there are more passengers to and from those main islands," said the Head of Riau Islands' Transport Agency, Muramis, in Batam on Thursday, July 2, 2015.
As a result, Natuna Islands are currently only served by two commercial flights - whose flights are relatively out of reach for the average Islander.
Muramis said that the Governor of Riau Islands are lobbying Pelni to continue serving the Islands, especially considering that there will still be passengers that will travel in and out of the islands during tha Ramadan season.
The central government and Pelni has responded by saying that there will be ships that will be deployed to replace MV Bukit Raya, Lawit and Kalimutu during the peak holiday season - but such plan has yet to materialize.
"The plan is still being reviewed, and schedules have yet to be released," said Muramis.
Fadilah, a resident of Natuna Regency, has complained over Pelni's decision to stop serving the Islands, which lies on the periphery of The Indonesian archipelago. "Even when the ships served the Islands we were already very isolated," said Fadilah.
"Plane tickets are very expensive - not everyone could afford to buy one," Fadilah continued, before adding that the average fare to Batam from the Islands could reach up to Rp1,75 million - way out of reach for the average resident in Natuna.
Furthermore, ever since the Airforce's (TNI AU) Hercules C-130 crashed in Medan, North Sumatra, TNI AU has temporarily suspended its' civil operations - which has helped the residents of the Island remain connected to the main Islands.
Fadilah hopes that the government could provide a way out of the predicament by providing a cheap and safe way of commuting in and out of the Islands - not just Natuna, but for every other islands at Indonesia's periphery.
ANTARANEWS
