FESTIVE JOY AT MELAKA FERRY TERMINAL AS INDONESIAN MIGRANTS RETURN HOME FOR HARI RAYA

MELAKA, March 29 (Bernama) -- A festive atmosphere continues to fill the Kota Laksamana Immigration, Customs, Quarantine and Security (ICQS) Complex Ferry Terminal here, with over 1,000 Indonesian migrants converging here over the past week to return to their hometowns to celebrate Hari Raya Aidilfitri.

A Bernama survey found that the sea entry points to Dumai and Bengkalis in Indonesia from Melaka began to be crowded with Indonesian migrants, foreign tourists and Malaysians of Indonesian descent since 7 am, with some even arriving as early as 5 am to board the 10 am ferry bound for Dumai.

The ferry terminal was a hive of activity, with employers dropping off their workers there either individually or in groups so that they can celebrate Aidilfitri with their families in their hometowns.

As for 27-year-old Nor Hazlinda Mohd Wipah, she said she chose to celebrate Hari Raya in her mother's hometown in Pekan Baru since the last time she went back was in 2019, just before the COVID-19 outbreak.

"This will be my first experience celebrating Raya in another country because I am accompanying my mother, who has not celebrated Raya in her village in Indonesia for a long time. It's a thrilling experience although we will have to endure more than two hours’ journey by sea and another five to six hours on land,” said Nor Hazlinda, who is from Kuantan, Pahang.

She added that they arrived at the Melaka ICQS at about 6 am and were surprised by the festive atmosphere at the jetty, which was filled with migrants waiting to return home for Hari Raya.

"I feel quite comfortable although I expect the ferry to be full today as everyone will surely be rushing for a seat since ferry trips are limited to twice a day for this Raya season, at 10 am and 2 pm,” she said.

For 35-year-old Ahmad Dariman Hariyanto, returning to Bengkalis by sea to celebrate Raya has become a tradition since he began working in Kuala Lumpur five years ago as it is cheaper and more convenient.

"Every year, especially the last few days of Ramadan, the ferry will be full. I was lucky to get a ticket as I only booked it two weeks ago and that could be due to the ferry's capacity of between 200 and 300 passengers… depending on whether the ferry operator is Kingdom or Dynasty.

"So, we must come early because we have to go through Customs checks, which can take some time,” he said.

-- BERNAMA