Help at your fingertips: Sigit (right) assisting an Indonesian to get the Ksatria WhatsApp channel on her mobile phone at the Berjaya Waterfront ferry terminal in Johor Baru. — THOMAS YONG/The Star
JOHOR BARU: For many Indonesians here, help is now just a message away following the launch of a WhatsApp channel.
The Ksatria, set up by the Indonesian Consulate General in Johor Baru, provides timely information and assistance to its citizens in Malaysia.
Consul General Sigit Suryantoro Widiyanto said the service, which has been in operation for two years, has over 13,000 users.
“It has received more than 3,900 complaints, mostly related to work issues such as unpaid salaries, health problems and loss of passports,” he said.
Sigit said some 90% of the complaints had been solved.
“After two years of testing the Ksatria channel and seeing how successful it has become in addressing issues faced by Indonesians here, we believe that now is the right time to expand,” he added.
Sigit told reporters this after putting up posters containing Ksatria information at the Berjaya Waterfront ferry terminal here yesterday.
The terminal is the gateway connecting this city and Indonesia’s Batam and Bintan islands via ferry service.
Sigit thanked the Malaysian authorities including the Immigration Department and the Customs Department as well as the ferry operators for their assistance provided to the Indonesians.
Berjaya Waterfront Johor Baru properties and development project general manager Mohd Roslin Nik Mat said the terminal serves 27 ferry trips to four Indonesian destinations daily.
He said from Monday to Thursday, the average daily number of travellers using the terminal is between 2,000 and 2,500.
“The number will increase to between 3,000 and 4,000 from Friday to Sunday and grow even higher to more than 6,000 during long public holidays,” he added.
Mohd Roslin said upgrading works would soon be carried out at the terminal to prepare for an influx of Indonesian tourists next year in conjunction with the Visit Johor Year 2026.
