KOTA KINABALU: The Kota Kinabalu Fishing Boat Owners Association (KKFBOA) has turned to the court for legal redress to resolve the disputes it is having with Sabah Fish Marketing Sdn Bhd (Safma) that led to its association members ceasing their operations last week.
KKFBOA public officer Tsen Heng That filed an ex-parte application at the High Court here yesterday, naming Safma, Sejahtera Bumimas Sdn Bhd, Siti Hawa Abdul Hamid and Olan Abdullah of Bunga Raya Enterprise as the first to fourth defendants respectively.
High Court judge Datuk Ravinthran Paramaguru, however, rejected KKFBOA’s application made through their counsel, Joan Goh, for an ex-parte interim order against the defendants.
“I am satisfied that I should not grant an ex-parte interim order without hearing out the defendants,” said Paramaguru in his ruling after hearing Goh’s submission yesterday afternoon, and subsequently fixed December 3 for the inter-parte hearing.
KKFBOA in its application sought an interim order to maintain the status quo on the operation and/or charges within the fishery complex before the second, third and fourth defendants’ involvement and the privatisation of the operations and services at the fishery complex.
The association also contended that this is a public interest issue as the fishery complex caters for the legitimate fishery industry in the whole of Kota Kinabalu area which, in turn, caters for the supply to the wholesalers, fishmongers, seafood restaurants and factories that relied on the supply of fish for its operations.
The consumers were also affected because there would be short of seafood supplies and would be paying for more expensive seafood. Such a situation would even have a catastrophic effect on the tourism industry because Sabah is known for being a seafood haven in the country.
The charges imposed on the KKFBOA members were now the most expensive in the country.
Furthermore, the association contended that the second, third and fourth defendants had not improved the facilities at the fishery complex, the association added.
KKFBOA has a fleet strength of 140 fishing boats and trawlers and could yield catches of over 100 tonnes daily in non-peak fishing season, and up to 500 tonnes in peak season.
Its chairman, Simon Hong, had stated that the association decided to cease operation since November 20 to avoid further losses.
He said Safma had appointed a private company to collect various fees from fishing boat owners that amounted to an average of RM1,800 a month.
Apart from the various charges, fishing boat operators also have to face the increasing price of diesel from RM1 to RM1.25. RM1.45 and now RM1.65 per litre since two years ago. The cost of fuel alone would amount to over RM10,000 which constituted a big portion of the cost in every fishing trip, said Hong.