M'SIAN FM CONVEYS REGRET OVER HARSH SENTENCE ON M'SIAN FISHERMEN

By Ahmad Fuad Yahya

JAKARTA, May 7 (Bernama) -- Foreign Minister Anifah Aman has expressed his
regret to his Indonesian counterpart Dr Marty Natalegawa over the harsh sentence
imposed by a court in Bengkalis, Riau on six Malaysian fishermen who were
charged with encroaching into Indonesian waters on March 8.

Anifah said the penalty imposed on the fishermen did not reflect the
agreement reached at the bilateral meeting in Kota Kinabalu last year on the
tolerance adopted by the authorities of the two countries on fishing in the
maritime border which was still being disputed.

"The jail sentence of 30 months on each fisherman and a fine of Rp1 billion
(RM350,000) in lieu of three months' jail was too excessive...I feel so bad
because they are fishermen," he said, expressing his regret over the case which
could not be resolved before the fishermen were charged in court.

The sentiment was conveyed at the meeting with Natalegawa on the sidelines
of the Asean Foreign Ministers' Meeting, here Friday.

The Foreign Minister said that he had previously contacted Natalegawa
personally to seek the cooperation of the Indonesian government to release the
fishermen before they were charged in court.

The Malaysian fishermen were detained by the Indonesian Marine Police at
12.5 nautical miles off Senggarang waters, Batu Pahat in Johor state on March 8.

The six fishermen were now in the process of appealing their case in court.