Member of Commission V of the House of Representatives, Saadiah Uluputty, demands that the sea transportation stimulus program during the 2026 Lebaran transportation is not concentrated on Java Island. He urged free boat tickets to reach residents of the eastern Indonesian archipelago.
Saadiah asked the government to ensure that people in the eastern part of Indonesia have equal access to free homecoming facilities and discounted boat tickets. According to him, the current policy has not fully touched residents in island areas such as Maluku and Papua.
"Don't let this free and discounted ticket program only go to Java. People in Maluku, Papua, and other eastern regions also need the same attention," Saadiah told reporters, Wednesday, February 25.
"We demand the expansion of the free homecoming quota to the easternmost part of Indonesia so that justice is felt evenly," he continued.
For the people of the archipelago, said Saadiah, sea transportation is an irreplaceable vital route. "Therefore, the distribution of transportation assistance must be even and not oriented to a certain region," he said.
He also asked the Ministry of Transportation together with PT Pelayaran Nasional Indonesia (PELNI) to re-evaluate the allocation of quotas, especially on the pilot routes that serve low-income people.
Apart from quota equalization, the PKS legislator also highlighted the readiness of services at Tanjung Perak Port which is the main gateway for passenger traffic to East Indonesia. With the prediction of a surge in passengers reaching tens of thousands of people, he emphasized, the quality of ship and terminal facilities must not be overlooked.
"Service must be improved, there must be no more complaints about food that is not worthy. Capacity must also be closely monitored, do not force it beyond limits," he said.
Based on operational data, PELNI has prepared 50,000 free economy class tickets and a 30 percent discount for 25 public service assignment (PSO) ships which are valid from March 11 to April 5, 2026.
Commission V of the DPR noted two routes with the highest movement from East Java, namely Balikpapan-Surabaya with 14,025 passengers and Makassar-Surabaya with 11,714 passengers.
Both routes are expected to be a crucial point of supervision during the peak of the homecoming flow.
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