Safety Of Fishermen Not An Issue In South China Sea - Mohamad Sabu

SERDANG, Sept 12 (Bernama) -- The public have been urged to not raise issues of fishermen’s safety in the waters of South China Sea, said Minister of Agriculture and Food Security Datuk Seri Mohamad Sabu.

He said the situation in the waters in question was still safe and his ministry has not received any reports of incidents involving fishermen.

“There are no problems involving fishermen. So far I have not received any reports of disturbances to fishermen. God willing, we will resolve this dispute through diplomatic channels.

“The government is capable of resolving it,” he told reporters after inspecting the preparations for the 2024 Malaysian Agriculture, Horticulture and Agrotourism Exhibition (MAHA) here , today.

He said this in response to public concern regarding safety in the South China Sea following several reports of incursions of Chinese Navy and Coast Guard vessels in the waters of Malaysia's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) recently.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had on July 30, urged fishermen and anglers in the South China Sea to not be afraid of the presence of Chinese Coast Guard vessels, especially in the area around Beting Patinggi Ali.

Meanwhile, Mohamad said that MAHA GO Global, which was inaugurated in conjunction with MAHA 2024 today, is a platform for elevating the country's agro-food sector to an international ranking with the involvement and participation of various countries.

“Through MAHA Go Global, the main achievements (The targeted KPI is investment potential value and a memorandum of understanding (MoU) amounting to RM6 billion) as well as a potential business investment target amounting to RM167 million,” he said.

Mohamad said a total of 12 trade MoUs were signed today with a value of RM500 million, involving the agriculture and fisheries sectors. 

In a separate event, Mohamad also launched the new Malaysia's Best logo as a national recognition and branding for the symbol of food quality and safety for Malaysian agricultural output which is recognized as quality, safe and reaches domestic and international ranking standards.

He said that starting June this year, 28 companies and one individual have been awarded Malaysia's Best branding for vegetable and fruit commodities involving 50 myGAP farms and equivalent.

-- BERNAMA