A90-MINUTE drive northeast of Johor Baru will take you to the coastal town of Tanjung Sedili.
The quaint seaside settlement is teeming with small wooden shops and food stalls facing the water.
Fishermen boats can be seen berthed at jetties on both sides of the Sungai Sedili Besar estuary, and there are landing bases for fishermen as well as a district base for the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA).
Depending on who you ask, Tanjung Sedili and nearby Kuala Sedili’s claim to fame may probably come from one of its famous sons, the late National Laureate and poet Usman Awang, who was born in Kuala Sedili.
The quaint seaside town made the news once again recently for another reason.
On May 20, nine Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) sailors were stranded at sea for 51 hours after a communication glitch saw their boat lose contact with RMN’s fast-attack craft (missile) KD Perdana about 29 nautical miles off Tanjung Sedili.
The team of sailors had been ordered by the KD Perdana commander to board illegal foreign fishing boats while it pursued other such vessels.
The families and colleagues of the nine RMN sailors were relieved when the team were found safe and sound after a merchant ship spotted them 90 nautical miles off Kuantan.
What was also of concern were the circumstances which got the sailors into that situation.
The incident has highlighted the cases of foreign fishermen encroaching on Malaysian waters, which, according to locals in Tanjung Sedili, have been occurring for the past five years.
Much of the 500-strong fishing community have had to put up with threats from foreign fishermen who were affecting their livelihood.
Tanjung Sedili Area Fishermen Association chairman Majid Abdul Rahman said many Vietnamese fishermen on foreign-registered boats used deep sea trawler nets, which badly affected the local fishermen’s smaller nets.
“They threaten the local fishermen because they trawl through the waters and barge through our areas while smaller boats have to make way for them.
“These Vietnamese do not care for the law as they are only doing it for the money. They don’t care about any life. They act like they own the place and they are disrespectful,” said Majid.
A day after the RMN sailors were found, the Fisheries Department conducted an operation which led to the arrest of 22 Vietnamese fishermen in three boats and seizure of RM5 million worth of catch and other items.
Two of those boats were intercepted at locations 43 nautical miles and 12.8 nautical miles offTanjung Sedili Besar, Johor, while the third boat was stopped 9.2 nautical miles off Pulau Berhala in Nanasi, Pahang.
When commenting on the cases, Southern Region MMEA director Datuk Adon Shahlan said many illegal foreign fishermen caught for encroaching on Malaysian waters were backed by agents, who ensured these foreigners have a fighting chance when their cases go to court.
This and other issues related to seized items often led to their cases being delayed.
Fishermen Bidin Sulong, 57, who has been plying the waters of Tanjung Sedili for many years, admitted that the presence of Vietnamese fishermen was
testing his patience and that of other fishermen.
“We are still patient, but for how long can we take this?
“These foreigners encroach into our waters and lay their trawler nets which destroys our own smaller nets. We have to incur losses of RM1,000 to RM3,000 due to our damaged nets,” said Bidin.
Majid said the damage to nets affected their catch by 60 to 70 per cent, and this was a factor that contributed to a rise in prices of fish.
The plight of fishermen in Tanjung Sedili is worrying considering the current uncertain weather patterns, which have also affected fish catch in the Straits of Malacca.
Fisheries Development Authority of Malaysia chairman Datuk Seri Dr Irmohizam Ibrahim had advised the public not to panic over the rising prices of fish during Ramadan and ahead of the Hari Raya celebration.
He made the statement on Monday following the feedback he received from fishermen who plied the Straits of Malacca, who revealed how the turbulence at sea has affected their catch.
Irmohizam said that based on historical data, the fishermen’s catch was suppose to increase between March and September, but that was not the case this time around due to the unpredictable strong winds.
**The writer is NST Johor bureau chief. When not working, he loves driving along the coastal highway and trunk roads of Johor. A lover of food, music and theatre, he recommends everyone to try Johor’s version of 'ais kacang' which is drenched in chocolate sauce.