Shooting incident could sour RI-Malaysia ties

Shooting incident could sour RI-Malaysia ties

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP): The shooting dead last month of a
Malaysian fisherman by the Indonesian navy could sour relations
between the countries, Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid
Albar warned on Thursday.

Syed Hamid said security forces of both countries should avoid
use of force against fishermen because it could endanger lives
and hurt ties.

"Indonesia and Malaysia are close neighbors. This type of
incident could cause misunderstanding between the two countries.
We hope such (shooting) incidents could be stopped," he told a
press conference.

Malaysian police are conducting an inquiry into the shooting
in June and will also seek to determine whether the incident took
place in Malaysian or Indonesian territorial waters.

The Indonesian navy says it was forced to open fire after a
trawler skippered by Heng Beng Hong, 43, tried to ram its patrol
boat in Indonesian waters.

But the dead man's colleagues said they were all in Malaysian
waters, about nine kilometers from the sea border in the Malacca
Strait, when Heng was shot.

They said the Indonesian boat sped towards them and started
firing without warning.

Syed Hamid advised local fishermen to use advanced instruments
such as the Global Positioning System to ensure they are in
Malaysian waters and to request security assistance if
threatened.

"It is sad that this incident happened. We do not want it to
continue. We need to find a way to handle this problem. As far as
possible we should avoid shooting. It costs lives," he said.

In February a Malaysian navy patrol boat opened fire and
killed an Indonesian fisherman.

The Indonesian government has lodged an official protest about
that shooting, also in the Malacca Strait, and about the arrest
of the crew of the boat, which it said was inside Indonesian
waters at the time.