No reports on 200 local fishermen missing at sea - Ismail Sabri

There is no report about any local fishermen being lost or missing at sea to be linked to the report on the arrest of 200 fishermen, alleged to be Malaysians, in the Indonesian waters.

Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said this was based on the information he received from state fisheries departments, which had been checking if there were any missing members among fishermen families in the peninsula so far.

"Right now, we are in the midst of checking with fishermen families in Sabah and Sarawak. So far, there is no report to link the arrest with Malaysian fishermen. What we have now are just media reports."

He said this in response to the media report that the Indonesian authority had arrested 200 Malaysian fishermen alleged to have been fishing illegally in the Indonesian waters.

Ismail Sabri, however, did not dismiss the possibility that the arrested fishermen were not Malaysians, but merely foreign fishermen using Malaysian-registered boat bearing a Malaysian name and flag.

Earlier, Ismail Sabri witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding between Malaysia and Myanmar to strengthen the cooperation to boost the farming, breeding and fisheries industry in both countries.

The MoU was signed in conjunction with the Malaysian Agriculture, Horticulture and Agrotourism Show (MAHA) 2014 here today.

Myanmar was represented by its Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation), U Myiant Hlaing.