Too pricey for consumers

According to Kuching Fishing Trawlers Association, operators in Sarawak were not prepared for the removal of fuel subsidies.

KUCHING: The prices of fish and seafood have doubled here in recent days as the effects of the boycott by trawler operators settle in.

A quick walkabout in Stutong market revealed that a good species of fish such as “ikan panjang”, which used to cost between RM7 and RM9, was now anything between RM16 and RM20 a kilo.

Other fish like “gembong”, sardine and tuna have also increased considerably.

While the people, who are aware of the subsidy cutbacks and the operators’ reasons for not going out to sea, are sympathetic to the situation, they want a quick solution.

One housewife, weighed down by recent increases in her marketing budget, has suggested that the government and fishermen come to a “compromise”.

“Marketing is not like before. Vegetables, meat, fish and prawns are very expensive now…

“I read the papers; I know what is happening. The government and fishermen must come to a compromise.

“Otherwise, both sides will lose. It is a hard life for the fishermen… it must be profitable for them to go to sea.

“The government can afford to absorb some of the cost… the fishermen cannot… they have families to feed,” she said.

Another consumer, a teacher, also said that it would be in the government’s best interest to resolve the matter quickly.

“The government must resolve this quickly. People are getting angry… prices are going up.

“It will backfire at the ballot box if they (government) are not careful,” he said.

Unprepared for withdrawal

Since June 1, when the government’s decision to abolish super subsidies for diesel came into effect, trawler operators have slowly stopped going out to sea.

The primary reason is increased fuel cost. With the removal of subsidies, operators now have to buy fuel at RM1.80 compared with RM1.25 a litre previously.

For an operator, this translates into an additional RM10,000 at least for an outing to sea.

Meanwhile, Kuching Fishing Trawlers Association secretary Tan Boon Ting said: “Of course, the fish are expensive now…. How can we go? Sapa mahu rugi? (who wants to lose?)”

He said the removal of the subsidy had caught many of the operators by surprise as most had expected both sides would have reached on an “agreed amount”.

“This is a big jump and not many of us are prepared for it. There is a big difference between RM1.25 and RM1.80.

“We have asked the government to maintian the subsidy, otherwise many of our members will not be able to go out to sea.

“I hope that the government will look into our plight and take immediate action,” said Tan.

He added that the association will not join the boycott by trawler operators in Pahang, Perlis and Johor.

“We are not going to organise a strike. We decided not to proceed with the plan after meeting MCA president Dr Chua Soi Lek.”

He said Chua promised to bring up the fuel subsidy issue to the government, and the fishermen hoped that he would be able to help them.

Tan said that his members had also raised with Chua the issue of the “leasing” of deepsea (C2) fishing licence to foreigners by unscrupulous licence owners.

He said the practice is rampant and this has been unfair to the local fishermen, especially when the foreigners were alleged to have received subsidised diesel from the government while their catches were sold in their own country.