Warisan man blasts Putrajaya, Sabah govt over invite to foreign fishing crew

Tanjung Aru assemblyperson Junz Wong has slammed Putrajaya for saying that inviting Vietnamese and Thai fishing crew can make up for a manpower shortfall in deep sea fishing activities.

Wong was reacting to Fisheries Development Authority (LKIM) chairperson Syed Abu Hussin Hafiz Syed Abdul Fasal who said last week that there was a 10 percent shortage of fish landings during the latest movement control order (MCO 3.0), due to lack of manpower for deepsea fishing.

Syed Abu said that deep-sea activities need a skipper and crew comprising foreign nationals because locals were not keen to work due to the required long period at sea.

"That is an utter insult to fisherfolk nationwide! The LKIM chairperson should go to the ground and meet local fisherfolk before coming to this silly conclusion.

"We have so many fisherfolk. They have been catching fish their entire lives, but recently lost jobs. So how can Putrajaya just claim that they are not interested or unskilled?” Wong said. 

The Warisan vice-president and former Sabah minister of agriculture and food industries called on the Sabah government to prioritise local fisherfolk.

"Unfortunately, Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) has not said anything. My successor Jeffrey Kitingan, must be aware of Putrajaya’s open invitation to Vietnamese and Thai fisherfolk by now. So what is his stand?" he asked.

Tanjung Aru assemblyperson Junz Wong

Wong added that the MCO 3.0 was the perfect opportunity to turn around the Sabah fisheries industry.

“It is an open secret that even without allowing new Vietnamese fisherfolk, there are already many Vietnamese fishing boats in Sabah waters.

“The whole of Sabah knows that the enforcement is having a hard time catching these Vietnamese boats, because of the complex web on how these Vietnamese operators disguise themselves as Malaysian boat operators.

“With all borders closed, this is the perfect timing and chance to once and for all eradicate Vietnamese fisherfolk from Sabah waters,” he said.

When Warisan took over the state government in 2018, there were already 52 deep sea licenses issued by the BN administration, more than half of which were Vietnamese boats, Wong said. 

"Warisan stopped issuing new licenses, froze and cancelled more than half of them. 

"We made sure only genuine Sabahan fisherfolk have these licenses because ultimately, Sabah's produces must go to Sabahans first. We also protected the marine ecology for long term sustainability," he claimed. - Mkini