T

he Malaysian government officially released on Tuesday 17 North Sumatran fishermen, who had been detained by the Royal Malaysian Police, after mediation between the Indonesian Maritime Affairs andn Fisheries Ministry and Malaysian authorities.

The release took place a day after the body of Elly Jailani, 34, a fisherman from Deli Serdang regency, North Sumatra, was returned to his family. He had died of illness in a Malaysian prison.

The 17 freed Indonesian fishermen still had prison time to serve of between one and two months. However, their release was accelerated by the Malaysian government thanks to advocacy efforts from the Indonesian government.

The fishermen, all hailing from Langkat regency, located some 60 kilometers northwest of provincial capital Medan, were named as Mukhlis, Syamsudin, Hermansyah, M. Rio, Andi, Zulfian, Syahrial, M. Ridwan, Syafrizal, Ridwan, Zulham, Lana, Ikbal Rinanda, Erfan, M. Reza, Mislan and Bambang Kurniawan.

They arrived at Polonia International Airport in Medan at 6:30 p.m. local time. They were greeted on arrival by Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Sharif Cicip Sutardjo before they were reunited with their families.

Sharif said the release of the 17 fishermen, who were detained in Penang, Malaysia, was part of the Indonesian government’s commitment to providing protection to fishermen. According to Sharif, the release was the biggest in terms of numbers so far this year.

“This is the largest release of our fishermen. We hope the Malaysian government will also do the same for the other Indonesian fishermen still detained there,” Sharif told reporters at the airport.

In response to whether the large-scale discharge of Indonesian fishermen was in exchange for Malaysian fishermen detained in Indonesia, Sharif said there was no barter involved in the release of the fishermen.

Sharif added that the total number of Indonesian fishermen detained in Malaysia as of October this year stood at 57, including those released on Tuesday. They came from various regions in the country, including Java and Sumatra.

Asked when the Indonesian government would secure the release of the other detained Indonesian fishermen, Sharif said efforts would be made as soon as possible.

“We hope every one of them can return home by the end of the year,” said Sharif, adding that the fishermen in Malaysian detention had received various sentences, ranging from three to six months in prison.

 Syah Afandi, head of the North Sumatra chapter of the Indonesian Fishermen Association (HNSI), thanked the Indonesian government on behalf of fishing families for their efforts to free the men.

Syah added that as many as 21 fishermen from North Sumatra were still being detained in Malaysia. “We hope the Malaysian government will release them soon,” he said.