Tearful Reunites after being apart for over 200 days 20 Families separated by JB-SG Causeway waved at each other at the ‘closest distance’ on a Yacht

Tearful Reunites after being apart for over 200 days 20 Families separated by JB-SG Causeway waved at each other at the ‘closest distance’ on a Yacht

On 24th October 2020, R&F Princess Cove team brought about 50 Johoreans from 20 families, separated by 4 round trips, headed out to the boundary line of Johor Strait which believed to be ‘the closest distance’ for them to meet their family members stranded in Singapore. Some long-apart couples just looked at each other in silence while kids finally got to shout out and call their parents in real after 7 months of separation. Some families held up their own hand-written messages and drawings to show their love, while all eyes welled up with tears.

“It’s so heart-breaking when reading all the news that many families were forced to separate,” said Mr. Richard Hu, Chairman of R&F Malaysia. “This is the least we can do, using our yacht which is the existing asset of Princess Cove, to allow them meeting each other at the closest distance as they can instead of video-calling on devices. Nothing can be compared to seeing each other in person.”

The sudden outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic this year has made many of our lives totally different, the SG-JB borders have been closed for more than 7 months which is never before seen in the history, making the daily commute impossible for the first time. It’s now then only everyone knows how precious it is that we can meet our families and friends residing in these two cities by simply crossing the 1-km bridge, even with the traffic jam is so much missed.

When Malaysia imposed a lockdown on travel in March 2020, many Malaysians rushed entering the island by not realising it would be a separation close to a year. Though yearning for their loved ones back home, many have opted to stay in the island as most of them are the main providers for their families and couldn’t afford to lose their jobs.

R&F Princess Cove assists the families as much as possible and creates the opportunity to let them ‘meeting’ each other in real.  R&F Princess Cove yacht was specially decorated with a banner stating ‘Miss You, My Love!’ for easy recognition when getting closer to Woodlands. Families on board were seen talking or shouting to their families when sailing towards the closest point, releasing their emotion at to this long-awaited moment.

Due to the JB-SG border regulations, R&F Princess Cove yacht is not allowed to stay long. Families and friends waved farewell reluctantly albeit from afar, looking forward to the actual reunion.

A Facebook post was made on R&F Princess Cove page on the 20th October 2020, opening for more families to participate. The page received tremendous responses within the day. Many Johoreans have been longing to meet their families from the nearest distance on the yacht. Due to overwhelming responses, R&F Princess Cove had arranged several sessions per day to cater for the needs as there is limited number of passengers to board the yacht.