KUCHING: Minister of Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Datuk Salahuddin Ayub has given his assurance that all efforts are being done to secure the release of Malaysian fishing vessels, including those from Sarawak, that were intercepted by the Indonesian authorities over the last few months.
He said he had made contact with Indonesian Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Susi Pudjiastuti and arranged for an official meeting in Jakarta to negotiate their release, and also to seek the way forward to settle this long-standing issue, including the official stand on disputed waters.
Relaying this assurance yesterday was Bandar Kuching MP Dr Kelvin Yii.
Dr Kelvin Yii
“This is in response to a question I raised this morning (yesterday) in Parliament during the ministerial-questioning time, regarding the increasing cases of Malaysian fishing boats being caught and confiscated by the Indonesian authorities including the two recent cases of a tourist fishing boats named ‘Nemo’ and another fishing boat registered as SF166 from Sarawak, which were intercepted on March 12 and 13, respectively,” Dr Yii said.
Both boats are said to have encroached into Indonesian waters, even though the coordinates provided by both boats at point of arrest are stated to be within Malaysian waters.
Malaysian and Indonesian governments too have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in November 2017 in Kuching, stating an understanding that any fisherman caught would be released swiftly as the majority of such cases are being done unintentionally due to the confusion as far as maritime borders are concerned.
Both countries have agreed that the majority of the fishermen involved are also from the lower income group, who rely on fishing for a living.
“That is why they should be released swiftly, including their boats and fishing equipment.
“However even with that understanding, there are increasing interceptions by the Indonesian authorities of our boats, even though the fishermen claimed that they were well within the Malaysian maritime borders. Currently, eight Malaysian boats have been confiscated by the Indonesian authorities, while nine Indonesian boats are under the Malaysian authorities.
“The minister (Salahuddin) went on to say there were also disputed waters at the Malaysia-Indonesia border with both countries having different interpretation of the borders. On top of that, due to political developments in Indonesia, the frequency of arrest of fishing boats has also increased in view of the upcoming Indonesian elections.
“This issue has been on-going for many years and involves multiple ministries including Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Defence, Home Ministry, and Foreign Ministry.
“That is why I suggested in Parliament that the federal government should set up a taskforce at the cabinet level for higher-level direct negotiations with the Indonesian government to resolve any dispute, especially on our maritime borders, and how we can protect and uphold the rights and security of our fishermen,” Dr Yii said.