KOTA KINABALU: Sabah police are still studying whether to ban the use of pump boats or impose certain conditions before allowing local small-scale fishermen to use them for their livelihood.
Sabah Commissioner of Police Datuk Omar Mammah said the subject was being deliberated by security agencies and a number of relevant parties in the state.
“We need to be thorough in our review as the decision we’re going to make must be consistent. We don’t want a situation where we ban pump boats today, lift the ban the next day, and ban it again when an incident happens.
“We hope to submit our proposal to the Chief Minister (Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal) soon,” he told reporters after the third bilateral meeting between the Malaysian Marine Police Force and Philippines National Police Maritime, here yesterday.
Also present was Philippines national police maritime director, Brigadier General R. Win SA Pagkalinawan.
For the record, pump boats were banned in April 2016 to prevent potential security threat by foreigners who use such boats to enter Malaysian waters particularly the Eastern Sabah Security Zone (ESSZone) to commit crimes.
However in May 2018, the state government lifted the ban in consideration of fishermen in ESSZone.
On the bilateral meeting, Omar said it was aimed at strengthening cooperation between Malaysia and Philippines particularly regarding security at their respective maritime borders, and tackling traditional menace such as piracy and kidnapping.
Malaysia and Philippines are also consolidating to stave off newer threats such as encroachment by ships of other countries into their maritime region to carry out illegal fishing, Omar added. - Bernama
