Malaysian, Indonesian Fisherman Will No Longer Be Nabbed In Unresolved Waters

By Ahmad Fuad Yahya NUSA DUA (BALI), Jan 27 (Bernama) -- The Malaysian and Indonesian authorities will no longer nab fishermen from either country for straying into maritime boundaries that had yet to be resolved, instead they will be shooed off. Both countries will also continue to provide information to their fishermen on the maritime boundaries and advise them against encroaching the waters. This understanding is stipulated in a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the guideline on the treatment of fishermen by the Malaysian and Indonesian maritime enforcement agencies penned here Friday.. The guideline was finalised two months after Prime Minister Najib Razak and President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono dabbled on the illegal fishing issue when they met in Lombok in October and the Asean Summit in Bali in November last year. At the MoU signing ceremony here Friday, Malaysia was represented by National Security Council secretary Mohamed Thajudeen Abdul Wahab while Indonesia was represented by Coordinating Body for Maritime Law Enforcement (Bakorkamla) chief Vice-Admiral Y. Didik Heru Purnomo. The event was witnessed by Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Nazri Abdul Aziz, who represented the deputy prime minister, and Indonesia Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Djoko Suyanto. It is learned that the maritime boundaries yet to be finalised by Malaysia and Indonesia involve five segments - two in the Straits of Melaka and one each in the Straits of Singapore, South China Sea and the Sulawesi Sea. Nazri said the agreement spelled out that fishing was prohibited in maritime boundary areas that had yet to be finalised. Fishermen caught in the disputed waters will be shooed off by maritime agencies patrolling the areas from either country. In general, the guideline hinges on mutual understanding to prevent any acts of violence and without prejudice to the existing maritime boundary agreement. It also underlines that the authorities of both countries should meet out non-discriminatory treatments on fishermen based on human rights. Other members of the Malaysian delegation were Foreign Ministry secretary-general Mohd Radzi Abdul Rahman, Armed Forces chief Zulkifeli Mohd Zain, Bukit Aman Security and Public Order director Salleh Mat Rasid. They others were Navy chief Abdul Aziz Jaafar, Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency director-general Admiral Mohd Amdan Kurish, Fisheries Department director-general Ahmad Sabki Mahmood and Malaysian Ambassador to Indonesia Syed Munshe Afdzaruddin Syed Hassan. -- BERNAMA