KUCHING: Bintulu Member of Parliament Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing yesterday was still harping on the actions and inaction of the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA). “At only 30 nautical miles from the shore, our local fishermen have reported seeing foreign vessels harvesting our marine resources.
If the MMEA had seriously done its duties, its personnel would have seen much to take action against,” he said. He said this after his conversation with local fishermen who claimed there were still many Vietnamese fishing vessels encroaching into our waters. “I met Liu, a fishing boat owner to talk about their problems, demands and to know more about the deepsea fishing industry’s struggle against foreign fishing vessels,” he said yesterday.
Tiong who is also Progressive Democratic Party (PDP) president said he was perplexed when he was informed that Vietnamese fishing boats were seen openly fishing in Malaysia waters.
“Worse still, it is known that there is a ‘mother ship’ near oil rigs that wait to collect fish caught by the smaller vessels. “The MMEA stated that it had dispatched helicopters to confirm reports of intrusions but failed to detect any foreign fishing boats. “However, local fishermen have witnessed these helicopters overhead as they were surrounded by Vietnamese vessels.
“It is extremely incomprehensible why the crews of the helicopters could not see the vessels. “Do they need telescopes or binoculars, or were the fly-bys just a staged show? Doesn’t the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency care to investigate this audacious violation of our maritime borders?” said Tiong.
Voicing his concern about the wellbeing and livelihood of local fishermen, Tiong urged the government agency and Fisheries Department to be more competent in solving this outstanding issue. “The entire state and the fishing industry are vexed and disappointed by the sheer incompetence of the MMEA and Fisheries Department.
“They need to ensure the safety and livelihood of our fisher folk. Doing so will also ensure that our marine harvests can fetch reasonable prices in the market. “The police, too, needs to be particularly strict about this issue for the sake of the people,” he stressed. Expressing deep regret that the current government had yet to commence resolving the issue, Tiong slammed the authorities for ignoring the reports made by local fishermen.
“Unfortunately, our fishermen have faced these threats for many years. The problem has only gotten worse recently. “Reports to the authorities are being laughed at or ignored by the marine enforcement authorities,” he said.
“Now, our local fishermen cannot even guarantee their safety when they do go out to sea, much less know they can catch enough fish to meet their targets. “The Ministry of Agriculture and Agro-based Industry must reach out to the people with an explanation of the federal government’s plan to resolve this dire issue. Tiong also added that he had contacted the director of the police’s Criminal Investigation Department in Miri in an attempt to help the fishermen.
