‘No notification yet on arrest of fishermen’

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KUALA LUMPUR: The Foreign Ministry through the Malaysian mission in Indonesia has yet to receive any official consular notification on the arrest of 200 Malaysians alleged to have been fishing illegally in Indonesian waters.

Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman said the Malaysian Embassy in Indonesia, however, had contacted the republic’s Foreign Ministry for verification, especially of the identity of the fishermen involved and the location of their arrest.

“If they were proven to be Malaysians, consular assistance would be given to them,” he said in a statement here yesterday.

Anifah said the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) also had not received any notification on the arrest of Malaysian fishermen from the Indonesian authorities.

He said Malaysia and Indonesia had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in respect of the common guidelines concerning the treatment of fishermen by maritime law enforcement agencies of Malaysia and Indonesia on Jan 27, 2012.

Through the MoU, he said both countries had agreed to only shoo away, and not to arrest, fishermen who were found to have been fishing at the Malaysia-Indonesia maritime border.

On the allegation that Indonesian President Joko Widodo was quoted as saying that all foreign fishing boats caught poaching in Indonesian waters would be sunk, Anifah said he did not believed that such a remark was made by the president.

“I don’t believe that this remark was made by the president and I will investigate this allegation,” he said.

Yesterday, several local newspapers reported that the Indonesian authorities had arrested 200 Malaysian fishermen alleged to have been fishing illegally in Indonesian waters.

The report also quoted Indonesian Cabinet Secretary Andi Widjajanto as saying that the arrest was part of the illegal fishing prevention operation launched by the Indonesian authority since Nov 17. — Bernama