SIBU: Putrajaya has been told to appoint a director for the Sarawak Maritime Department as soon as possible.
"The department has been without a director for two years already and this is affecting us," said Sarawak Fishing Vessels Association chairman Harry Tan.
He told a press conference here on Monday (Oct 7) that the department's deputy director not only has a heavy workload but is also not authorised to approve licences.
"Many things such as licence renewal, transfer of vessel ownership and inspection of vessels cannot be done.
"The deputy director has to refer (approvals) to Putrajaya which unfortunately delays processes. We hope Putrajaya will appoint a director for the state," he said.
On another matter, he hoped the department would just issue compound notices to vessel owners for marine offences instead of impounding their boats.
"The compound is usually RM3,000. After paying it, we can continue to operate.
"If they detain our vessel for up to three months, we will not have any source of income. Detaining our vessels is costly as we need RM20,000 monthly for our operations," he said.
Tan also hoped the department would not make it mandatory for them to install mobile tracking units on their fishing vessels.
"Each unit costs RM6,000 and we also need to spend RM2,000 on maintenance.
"We don't need this device as our vessels do not travel more than 200 nautical miles from the shore. The device is only suitable for vessels operating south of the Melaka Straits," he stressed.
Tan said they also wanted the department to allow the association to manage the Jalan Lanang jetty as the Sarawak Rivers Board was no longer managing it.
Meanwhile, Tan urged the Sarawak government to reclaim autonomy over its seas to allow easier management of fishing and maritime matters.
"It is better that Sarawak's sea rights are controlled by the Sarawak government like they are in Sabah, which is now responsible for its seas.
"We feel that if the Sarawak government controls (maritime matters), all processes will be easier than under the Federal Government.
"The maritime sector is one area where autonomous rights should be returned to Sarawak," he added.
