LKIM: Aid for only 40,000 fishermen

TAWAU: Only 40,000 fishermen who are registered with the Regional Fishermen’s Association (PNK) nationwide will receive a living allowance after the ongoing fishermen’s screening process is completed.

Malaysian Fisheries Development Authority (LKIM) Chairman Muhammad Faiz Fadzil said his department had fixed the amount from almost 57,000 recipients previously.

“After we take over the government, we see there is a need for an enhancement of the screening process and this is not a new process but has been done for a long time to ensure only genuine fishermen receive this allowance.

“Genuine fishermen are interpreted as those who go down to sea for a period of 120 days a year,” he said in a press conference after completing a Meet the Fishermen Community Leaders event here Thursday.

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He noted that several methods were used to investigate, including checking with Employees Provident Fund (EPF) or purchases of fuel to determine those who go down to the sea.

However, he said, if some fishermen were dissatisfied with saying they have gone down to sea more than 120 days, LKIM would consider their appeal.

When asked Muhammad Faiz admitted that there was political patronage in granting allowances on the list of recipients, based on family relationships and relations with politicians as it involved giving cash.

In the meantime, he noted that the issuance of new licenses and the intrusion of waters in Sabah was among the issues raised by the program by fishermen community leaders during dialogue sessions.

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He hoped that there would be more drastic, aggressive and efficient actions taken by the authorities to ensure that no intrusions by foreign fishermen and no intrusions of zones in the state’s waters.

“We have three zones, A, B and C and each have a boundary area to ensure each fisherman has a fair income distribution ... The intrusion of other fishermen in these areas will affect the income of fishermen there,” he said.

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