The welfare of the fishing community should be the priority of fishing association and not be used as a platform to urge or threaten the fisherfolk to comply with a directive.
Fishermen Taskforce Committee chairperson, Ahmad Zakiyuddin Abdul Rahman said the committee had received information on a gathering planned by a group of fisherfolk and NGOs to protest the Penang South Islands (PSI) project in Teluk Kumbar on Sunday.
According to him, it is understood that all fisherfolk who receive subsistence allowance and fuel subsidy are required to attend the gathering and register their presence, failing which fisherfolk would have their allowance and subsidy stopped.
"I condemn the actions of the Penang Fishermen's Association (Pen Mutiara) for using the confirmation of unit heads for fisherfolk's applications as bait to attend this scheduled public gathering," he said in a press conference today.
Zakiyuddin, who is also the Penang deputy chief minister I, said that previously there had been several cases where fisherfolk who supported PSI were not supported to get subsistence allowance and fuel subsidy.
This was on top of being stripped of membership from their respective fishing units and associations for supporting the project.
He insisted that the fuel allowance and subsidies given to the fisherfolk are from the federal government's allocation based on set criteria.
"The state government does not prevent anyone from voicing their opinions but all this must be done professionally without affecting the rights of fisherfolk.
"I would like to assure the fisherfolk involved that the fisherfolk's local service centre set up by the Fishermen's Taskforce Committee in Permatang Damar Laut, Gertak Sanggul and Sungai Batu is ready to help those who are facing problems," he said.
- Bernama
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