It’s Considered A Real Catch Now
By Rosli Abidin Abidin Yahya in Melaka

Bandar Seri Begawan - Being a fisherman in Malaysia is no longer synonymous with being poor, going by what fishermen at Kuala Sungai Baru in Melaka have made their point to prove in the past 15 years.

A recent visit by 42 local agricultural entrepreneurs as well as farmers to Melaka, organised by Agrinduz Development Sdn Bhd, reinforced the conviction that with determination and good leadership, the households of fishermen need not have to just "get by" forever.

Led by Hj Matzain Hj Salleh, the visitors, hosted by Warisan Baiduri Sdn Bhd and Lembaga Pertubuhan Peladang Malaysia, saw how the Malaysian government have tried their very best to help fishermen climb out of the poverty something of a trademark associated with them and farmers.

The Malaysian government even seconded some of its own officers who are qualified with tertiary education to run the Fishermen Association throughout the country, said Melaka Barat area fishermen's Association General Manager Kamarudin Yusoh, who himself was one of them and attached with the Lembaga Kemajuan Ikan Malaysia.

"We are here to ensure the smooth running of the association. However, the association employs a majority of the staff to administer the organisation," he said. Kamaruddin told the Brunei visitors that the Kuala Sungai Baru fishing folks have in fact transformed the place into a hub of a diversified, modern fishing industry and they are now reaping its lucrative returns.

Using the association as a vehicle for self-improvement since 1986, the fishermen now run 17 tourist chalets, a diesel kiosk, a sundry shop, a grilled-fish centre and holds a contractor's licence, besides directly marketing the catches of its every member.

Kamarudin said that none of the fishermen there now questioned the wisdom of bypassing middlemen when they can sell their 'tenggiri' (mackerels) for RM13.50 per kilogramme, direct to the association, compared to only RM10.50 a kilogramme paid by middlemen.

"Middlemen pay them only RM22 for a kilogramme of their prawns, whereas the association buys direct from them for between RM25 and RM36 per kilogramme," he added. Statistics are good indicators of this changing mindset of relying less and less on middlemen.

So far, 75 fishing boat owners have registered to market their catch through the association, compared to only two in 1994, revealed Kamarudin.

Even so, they accounted for only 33 per cent of the 250 boats owned by Melaka Barat fishermen, and the association was determined to get 80 per cent of them to sell their catch direct through it.

Fishing indeed changed the fortunes of former contractor New Kim Swie, who was displaced by the 1997 economic slowdown.

He has since rebounded and now rears marine fish in 248 cages at Sungai Linggi and markets his barramundi and red tilapia throughout Melaka and to the neighbouring Negeri Sembilan as well as Klang Valley.

Averaging a harvest of seven to eight tonnes a month, New sells his the tilapia at RM4 to RM8 a kilogramme and RM16 per kilogramme for the barramundi. The returns are still lucrative notwithstanding the RM35,000 monthly feedmeal bill and the RM1,000 he spent on each cage to rear 1,000 fish.

No one is happier than Datuk Ibrahim Durom, the Melaka State Executive Councillor in charge of rural developments and agriculture, to see the lot of Kuala Sungai Baru fishermen improve, as he was born and bred there himself. While commending the Melaka Barat fishermen's association for transforming the lives of their members, Ibrahim did not downplay the state government's role in erecting infrastructures like jetties and extending credit facilities to finance income-boosting activities.

He assured other fishing households in Melaka intending to emulate the success story of their Kuala Sungai Baru counterparts that the state government would continue to make such facilities available.

The Kuala Sungai Baru fishermen are indeed an innovative lot guided by a vision that poverty eradication is possible with dedicated officers like Kamarudin and a committed agency like Lembaga Kemajuan Ikan Malaysia.

Kamaruddin thanked Warisan Baiduri Sdn Bhd for supporting the association as the catering and National Service Operating company purchased about RM80,000 worth of fish, chicken and meat from them.

"We also loaned money to our members who wanted to purchase fishing equipment and accessories. They are payable through deductions of their catch every month," he explained. -- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin

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