KUCHING: The Fishermen Livelihood Allowance (ESHN) has been increased from RM200 to RM250 per month for Zone A vessel owners and Zone A, B, C and C2 crew employees.
Agriculture and Food Industries Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ronald Kiandee explained that the move was part of the federal government’s effort to ease the burden of fishermen.
He said this in his winding-up session in Parliament, Putrajaya on Tuesday in response to Tanjong Manis MP Yusuf Abd Wahab’s request to the ministry to provide allocations to fishermen in terms of fishing equipment, petrol subsidies and so on.
Kiandee disclosed that from January to June this year, RM51 million had been channelled to about 34,000 fishermen.
He added that other ongoing assistance programmes included as petrol subsidies, fishing produce incentives, fishermen insurance protection scheme, fishermen natural disaster and welfare fund.
“The government has also approved an allocation of RM15 million to Fisheries Development Authority (LKIM) through the Prihatin Economic Stimulus Package under the Fishermen’s Association Special Fund programme,” he said.
Kiandee added that between RM100,000 and RM200,000 had been distributed to 103 fishermen’s associations for the purchase of fishing equipment, aquaculture livestock as well as marketing and processing of fish produce for the benefit of fishermen.
Meanwhile, on a separate matter in reply to a question by Bintulu MP Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing, the minister said that the Fisheries Department would conduct continuous joint patrols in Malaysia’s exclusive economic zones (EEZ) to address the issue of foreign fishermen encroachment.
He assured that his ministry would work with the relevant authorities if there were any complaints on the abuse of power and integrity among authorities.
