Government to introduce new initiatives for welfare of fishermen

The government will introduce new initiatives to protect the welfare of fishermen in the country by having them registered with the Social Security Organisation (Socso).

Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Sim Tze Tzin, however, said a detailed study would have to be conducted before this could be implemented.

"We are working on the details and its implementation will be announced by Minister Salahuddin Ayub... and this will certainly be good news to the fishermen," he told reporters at the Negeri Sembilan Fisheries Development Authority of Malaysia Clients’ Day in Port Dickson today.

Also present was Port Dickson MP Anwar Ibrahim who also officiated a project to upgrade Kampung Telok Fishermen's infrastructure facility in Teluk Kemang with an allocation of RM200,000.

Meanwhile, Sim said to help fishermen increase their income, they were advised not to rely solely on the sea but to also source for income on land.

“We want fishermen to move forward and not be overwhelmed by the problems of poverty or just depending on government subsidies. We want them to succeed by generating revenue through marine or aquaculture produces.

"As such, I urge Fisheries Development Authority and the Area Fishermen's Association to develop these downstream projects including mussel and lobster farms as currently, lobster farming has great potential in the market," he said.

- Bernama