Last night I had voiced my comments to our media friends who were present at Telaga Air Esplanade in Kuching where the search and rescue (SAR) mission base that was set up to find the 15 missing anglers who were involved in two separate fishing boat incidents which occur on October 2 and 3 respectively.
This is because the present situation had shown that there are conflicts between several enforcement agencies including Sarawak Coast Gurad (SCG), Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA), Fire and Rescue Department (BOMBA) and Civil Defense Force (APM). This also as to each of the agency’s respective jurisdiction.
I was made to understand that the establishment of our Coast Guard (SCG) by the State
government was meant for surveillance and rescue purposes, not for defence security or to go to war. Our coast guard’s jurisdiction is also limited as they cannot go beyond certain
distance out to sea and they require prior permission from Kuala Lumpur before they can
proceed for any operations. While deep sea areas comes under the jurisdiction of MMEA and the coastal area is under Bomba, I did query on where are other agencies such as SCG are situated?
In any SAR, it is an emergency situation and every related agency is supposed to come
together and help as fast as possible. When our government established SCG, the purpose is not for security or for going to war with other countries. Instead, it is meant for surveillance and rescue so let them perform their duties. However, when unfortunate incidents arise such as the cases where two boats went missing at sea, the problem of who has the jurisdiction and conflicts arises.
That was why I questioned where was our coast guards during the SAR operation which started on Saturday (Oct 2). I believe our Sarawak government had spent about RM80 million to set it up and buy the boats. If the boats are only sitting at the jetty then it is useless and wasting our Rakyat’s money.
Thus, there are certain areas the federal and state governments must refine when it comes to this issue. I have also mentioned that when Malaysia was formed, matters concerning security was enshrined in the Malaysian Agreement and enforcement agencies such as the army, Police, Bomba and APM were under the jurisdiction of the federal government.
However, in view of the vast size of Sarawak’s waters and borders, I have asserted that our State government knew these agencies are likely to face problems when it comes to
surveillance and disasters that requires many agencies to participate in SAR.
Therefore, if we need to bring this negotiation to the federal government, then please do so
because the intention of the Sarawak government in setting up SCG is not to clash or
find problems with foreign countries. Our goal is to help in the event of a disaster. Human life is important. That is why all these agencies must work hand-in-hand, together with the local communities or villages.
On this note, I have expressed appreciation for the joint efforts by related agencies such as Maritim, Bomba and SCG’s the past few days in searching for the missing anglers. I have also asserted my earlier remarks were not meant to scold or reprimand any side. I finally knew why our coast guards could not be deployed for the SAR operation on the first day because of the circumstances and therefore, I expressed hope for all the agencies involved would be able to continue cooperate in finding the missing anglers.
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