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.