Kampung Batu Satu fishermen show the accumulated wooden debris which is blocking their boat access.
MIRI (May 27): Fishermen at Kampung Batu Satu are appealing to the Department of Irrigation and Drainage (DID) to immediately clear wooden debris washed up along the beach area.
Spokesman Abdul Mutalib Jaludin said the debris has blocked their boat access and prevented them from going to sea for nearly a fortnight.
“I’m not satisfied with DID because during the application for the retaining wall (Coastal Erosion Control Project), they said they will handle and resolve any problem that may arise.
“But it’s been many days since we cannot go out to sea and this is affecting our livelihood as fishermen.
“Actually, we have been facing the wood debris problem every year, but now that they (DID) installed a wave-breaker there, it has prevented the debris from going anywhere,” he said when met yesterday.
(For the freshest news, join our Telegram channel)
He said there are five locations nearby where wave-breakers will be constructed, with DID currently working on one at the nearby Kampung Batu Satu Fishermen Market.
“I’ve asked DID to construct the wall (wave-breaker) at the second location first, which is about 150 metres from the first one, to avoid this exact situation from happening.
“I wanted them to follow my suggestion. They should not think we fishermen are stupid, because I’ve been here for many years now. I know about the problem and that this exact situation was bound to happen,” he lamented.
Abdul Mutalib stressed that should the department fail to resolve the problem immediately, he and 11 other boat skippers as well as their crew members would expect to be paid RM300 per person per day from today.
“So I would like to appeal for the wooden debris to be immediately cleared. This is when we get our income; when the sea is calm. Now the sea is calm and the weather is fine, yet we cannot go out and make any income,” he pointed out.
Abdul Mutalib said he had complained to Minister of Transport and Senadin assemblyman Datuk Lee Kim Shin last week.
“Datuk Lee had instructed DID to clear the wooden debris but the problem now is that DID is taking their sweet time. They only cleared a small amount on the upper part of the area but there is still a lot at the bottom,” he claimed.
In a press statement on Monday, Lee had said the project contractor had agreed to clear the wooden debris which had been accumulating at the location to enable fishermen to bring their boats out to sea.
The Coastal Erosion Control Project at Kampung Batu Satu began last month and is expected to be completed by November next year.
The RM17.388 million project under the 11th Malaysia Plan includes the construction of a 200-metre wave-breaker and a concrete ramp that can accommodate over 100 boats.