MMEA dismisses Beting Patinggi Ali flag removal allegation

KUCHING: The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency Sarawak Region today dismissed a social media allegation that it was directed to remove a Malaysian flag planted on the Beting Patinggi Ali reef complex 84 nautical miles off the coast of Miri.
MMEA Sarawak Region director First Admiral (Maritime) Ismaili Bujang Pit said it had neither received such a directive from Putrajaya nor had it received a report that the Jalur Gemilang had been removed from Beting Patinggi Ali, also known as the Luconia Shoals.
An anonymous writer had made the accusation on social media and in WhatsApp groups, he said in a statement.
The flag was planted on Beting Patinggi Ali, which is within Malaysia's exclusive economic zone, on Aug 31, 2015, by amateur Australian marine archaeologist Capt Hans Berekoven and his team of marine researchers and Sarawak museum officials during a research mission.
"The writer too had claimed that a Bombardier aircraft of the agency (MMEA) had flown low over Beting Patinggi Ali waters when this was done (the flag was planted). This is again not true," Ismaili said.
He said every patrol by the agency in the area was recorded and reported to higher authorities.
"It is not possible for such an incident to have been ignored if indeed it had happened," he said, adding that the MMEA Sarawak Region had been patrolling the area since 2013.
"For the record, we, together with the Royal Malaysian Navy saw a Chinese Coast Guard vessel in Beting Patinggi Ali in March 2013.
"Since then, we started to patrol the area regularly. So far, no untoward incident has occurred," he said.
He said the agency would continue to do its utmost to ensure that the Beting Patinggi Ali waters remained safe for Malaysian fishermen and the country's shipping community. — Bernama