Barely making enough: Selvaraja says he would rather have more allowance to pay for his expenses than the diesel subsidy. — CHAN BOON KAI/The Star
GEORGE TOWN: Fishermen in Penang feel that Budget 2024 has overlooked their community’s basic necessities, including the infrastructure that would ensure the safety of their boats and also their well-being.
Highlighting the need for better infrastructure, such as ramps, jetties and landings, for their boats, fisherman K. Katereasian, 53, said these would make a world of difference.
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“Boats tend to have barnacles stuck to them and every few days we have to scrape them off. It’s an arduous task that we have to do neck deep in water because there are hardly any dry docks around.
“Leaving the barnacles on the hull is bad because the layers slow our boats down, causing more diesel consumption.
“If we delay the removal, they become harder and take even longer to scrape off,” he said when met at the beach along Jalan Sultan Ahmad Shah here yesterday.
“This means we have to remove them neck deep in water every few days, and it is exhausting,” he added.
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The representative for the Paramount area’s fishermen said that while incentives are welcome, the amount has not gone up in years.
“If you ask any of the fishermen here, they will say RM300 is not enough.
“While there are times when we can make a lot of money, there will also be times when we only make RM500 for the entire month.
“Increasing it to RM400 or RM500 would make a huge difference, rather than allocations for repairing or building houses.
“Many of us live in flats so it will not make a difference,” he said.
J. Selvaraja, 63, who has been a fisherman for 52 years, said it has become increasingly difficult to get larger catches.
“There is fewer fish in the sea now compared to the 1970s.
“We would prefer getting more allowances instead of the diesel subsidy so that we can pay for expenses and buy the consumables we need as fishermen.
“Now, even servicing boat engines is costly,” he said.
Seberang Prai Fishermen Association chairman Mahadi Md Rodzi said they were grateful for the incentives, including allowances and catch incentives, and he believes they will motivate fishermen.
“They give 10 sen per kg, which is not much as some fishermen only catch a few kilos of prawns or crabs.
“Not everyone catches big fish. If it is increased to 20 sen, it would make a huge difference for us.
“The monthly RM300 is no longer enough as the price of goods is increasing rapidly,” he said.
Mahadi said giving allocations for repairing fishermen’s houses is thoughtful as many cannot afford to fix their homes because their money goes towards other more important expenditure.
