MMEA Aspires To Become Asean's Maritime Centre Of Excellence

JOHOR BAHRU (Johor, Malaysia) Nov 28 (Bernama) -- The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) aspires to become a maritime centre of excellence in ASEAN, said its director-general, Admiral (Maritime) Ahmad Puzi Ab Kahar. He said efforts to ensure its success had been implemented in stages, including training the other maritime enforcement agencies' officers in the region. "Next year, six African countries are expected to send their maritime officers for a course at MMEA training centre in Sultan Ahmad Shah Maritime Academy in Gebeng, Kuantan, Pahang," he told a press conference here Sunday. The press conference was on the extradition process of eight Indonesian nationals suspected of being involved in robbing the Malaysian oil tanker, MT Orkim Harmony, last year. Ahmad Puzi said the country's maritime crime rates had been kept under three per cent for six years from 2011. Ahmad Puzi said the number was a sharp drop as compared to about 48 per cent, 12 years ago. "Before this, Melaka Strait was known as a prohibited zone after 38 cases of piracy happened there. "But by 2009 and 2010, the strait recorded a zero incident while in 2011, two groups of pirates were arrested and sentenced to 15 years in prison and five strokes of the cane," he said. -- BERNAMA