Govt neglected RI fishermen arrested in M'sia: Union

The Fisheries Justice Coalition (Kiara) has criticized the government of neglecting Indonesian fishermen who were captured and imprisoned in Penang, Malaysia, resulting in the death of one of the imprisoned fishermen.

“The government has been negligent in the protection of fishermen operating in border areas,” Kiara program coordinator Abdul Halim said Wednesday as quoted by tempointeraktif.com.

He regretted the fact that the government had not taken any legal initiatives to defend the fishermen, adding that it was clear that they had been fishing in Indonesian territory at the time of the arrest.

According to one of the Penang prison guards, the arrested fishermen could have easily been released had the Indonesian government provided proof that the fishermen were not sailing into Malaysian waters, Abdul said.

“But, since the arrest, the government has not done so,” he said.

Kiara and the Indonesian Traditional Fishermen's Association (KNTI) recorded that 52 traditional fishermen from Langkat, North Sumatra, had been arrested and imprisoned in Malaysia since April 19, 2009.

Another 47 fishermen said they were robbed and assaulted by Malaysian police.

Out of the 52 arrested fishermen, 17 were returned to Indonesia on Tuesday. A few days prior to the release, one of the fishermen, Ahmad Zailani, reportedly died in prison after four months' detainment.