Follow us on Instagram, TikTok, and Telegram for the latest stories and breaking news.
Recently, a video showing a group of Malaysian fishermen and the Singapore Coast Guard in a verbal altercation near the Singapore border went viral
In the video, which was uploaded by a Facebook user on 24 October, Singapore police can be seen attempting to chase the fishermen away, which escalated into a heated exchange of words.
According to Free Malaysia Today, the police allegedly tried to block a group of 10 fishermen assembling their shrimp nets in the Pasir Laba area, near the Second Link Bridge in Iskandar Puteri at 5.30 pm on 23 October.
Iskandar Puteri police chief Rahmat Ariffin confirmed that they had received a report regarding the matter and additional inquiries at 2.30pm on the following day, 24 October.
Kota Iskandar assemblyman Datuk Pandak Ahmad said he regretted the actions of the Singaporean authorities
According to Buletin TV3, Pandak said it was the Singaporean authorities who entered Malaysian borders illegally.
“The fishermen also have video proof that they were in the national border area, in addition to recording the Singaporean authorities’ provocations against them,” Pandak explained.
In the meantime, Pandak hopes that the authorities will take appropriate action to ensure that the rights of fishermen who make a living in the country’s waters are not abused.
“I understand that the same incident has happened several times, but the fishermen decided to keep silent before this so that (their livelihoods) wouldn’t be affected,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Singapore Police Force has refuted the allegations
In a statement yesterday, 25 October, it called the allegations “wholly untrue”, adding that their officers had been patrolling Singapore territorial waters on Sunday when they spotted a group of Malaysian fishing vessels entering and exiting the live firing area off Lim Chu Kang at around 4pm.
Following that, the officers advised the fishermen to leave.