ASDP Confirms Poto Tano Ferry Service Remains Open Ahead of PPS Protest
Members of the Sumbawa Island Province Alliance (PPS) are planning a large-scale protest on 2 June 2026, demanding the creation of a new province for Sumbawa Island separate from West Nusa Tenggara (NTB). The protests are set to take place simultaneously across five regencies and cities on Sumbawa Island: West Sumbawa, Sumbawa, Dompu, Bima, and Bima City, with threats to shut down Poto Tano Port in West Sumbawa Regency.
General Manager (GM) of PT ASDP Indonesia Ferry’s Kayangan Branch, Erlisetya Wahyudi, confirmed ferry services between Ketapang in East Lombok and Poto Tano in West Sumbawa Regency (KSB), and vice versa, will remain operational. “ASDP will not close the port. Services for passengers will continue and vessel operations will remain normal 24 hours a day,” Erlisetya told detikBali on Sunday (31 May 2026).
However, Erlisetya added that ferry services on 2 June will adjust to on-ground conditions. Operational adjustments will be made to ensure service smoothness, safety, and security for passengers and the public. “We will adjust and coordinate with relevant port stakeholders according to actual conditions on the ground,” he said. “We are also monitoring Poto Tano. The port will definitely remain open, and operations will continue outside the port area,” he added.
Thousands of PPS alliance members had previously planned the protest on 2 June, demanding the cancellation of the moratorium on new autonomous regions (DOB) and the establishment of Sumbawa as a new province.
Abdussyahir, chair of the PPS alliance in Bima City and commonly known as Ogie, said protests in West Sumbawa will centre at Poto Tano Port, while in Sumbawa Regency they will focus at the airport ring road junction. In Dompu, demonstrations will be held at the Banggo Manggelewa branch.
“In Bima Regency, the protest site will be at Talabiu branch and Uma Me’e slope (junction in front of Bima Airport), while in Bima City it will be at the Pertamina area,” he explained.
Ogie detailed several demands to be raised during the simultaneous protests across Sumbawa’s five regencies and cities, including urging the central government, through the Ministry of Home Affairs (Kemendagri), to immediately revoke the DOB moratorium.