BINTULU: Members of Sarawak Fishing Vessels Association (SFVA) held a peaceful protest in front of the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) office here, demanding the release of all 12 foreign crew registered with SFVA who were detained last Sunday.
According to SFVA secretary Harry Tan Joo Seng, all the foreign fishing crew had letters of approval from the Fisheries Department and also valid passports.
“The issue at the moment is the crew’s entry stamp into the country, which is overdue because of the enforcement of the Movement Control Order (MCO) over the past two years to curb Covid-19.”
Therefore, Tan called on the MMEA to release the crew as they have valid travel documents and are employed by local fishing boat operators through the proper channels.
He also thanked the MMEA for being concerned about the complaints voiced by SFVA members to enable this issue to be addressed properly.
“I hope MMEA can resolve this issue well and allow foreign crew to continue their work without any obstruction.”
Meanwhile, MMEA said it would resolve the issue fairly according to the law for the benefit for all parties.
