Perak fishermen fear increased piracy in Malaysian waters

 

Pantai Remis assemblyman Wong May Ing said the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency in Perak did not have enough assets to handle the threat, with only six patrol boats capable of operating beyond 40 nautical miles. (Bernama pic)

PETALING JAYA: 

Fishermen around Pantai Remis and Bagan Panchor in Perak have expressed fear about the increased number of pirates from neighbouring countries in the nation’s waters.

Pantai Remis assemblyman Wong May Ing said she had received reports of at least five cases since December, involving hundreds of thousands of ringgit in losses, Kosmo reported.

She said the pirates mainly used small speedboats manned by four to eight people, with one carrying a firearm and the others, machetes.

“One case involved a kidnapping and ransom. Another saw a fishing boat and its equipment worth hundreds of thousands of ringgit destroyed,” she said at a press conference in Pantai Remis today.

Wong urged the authorities to take this issue seriously, as Perak had the most deep-sea fishermen in Peninsular Malaysia and it could harm the nation’s fish supply.

She said the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) in Perak did not have enough assets to handle the threat, with only six patrol boats capable of operating beyond 40 nautical miles, thus making it difficult for security teams to immediately respond to every incident. - FMT