LANGKAWI, March 27 — Malaysia needs an ocean governance regime to bring together all maritime-related agencies for better enforcement, Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said today.

He said there is a need for the country to review the management of its vast sea areas and marine resources.

“Over the years, as Malaysia matured as a nation, there have been no less than 15 Acts and Orders passed to manage our maritime space,” he said when delivering his keynote address at the National Maritime Conference at the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace Exhibition 2019 (LIMA’19).

The enforcement of these laws were entrusted to more than 10 ministries and 31 maritime-related agencies with overlapping jurisdictions that led to inefficient utilisation of resources, he said.

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“In addition to that, while the government continues to allocate huge amounts from its annual budget to empower management and enforcement in our waters, illegal maritime-related activities remain a major challenge,” he said.

He said Malaysia’s maritime security was greatly challenged by non-traditional threats such as illegal trafficking of both goods and human; illegal, unregulated and unreported Fishing (IUU fishing); piracy; terrorism; threats to the marine ecosystem like climate change and global warming; and pollution from shipping activities and land-based pollution.

A navy fleet is seen during a demonstration session at the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace Exhibition 2019 at Tanjung Malai March 27, 2019. — Picture by Sayuti Zainudin
A navy fleet is seen during a demonstration session at the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace Exhibition 2019 at Tanjung Malai March 27, 2019. — Picture by Sayuti Zainudin

He said these activities have impeded the country’s economic activities and impacted the total national revenue.

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Encroachment by foreign fishing vessels has also led to massive income loss apart from irreversible damage to the marine ecosystem, he added.

“It was reported last year that we lost approximately RM6 billion annually from illegal fishing activity, or IUU fishing, in the East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia alone,” he said.

He said it is high time for all maritime-related agencies to collaborate and consolidate necessary work processes to strengthen maritime enforcement.

“Enforcement activities can only be effective when there is sound Intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) capability,” he said.

He said agencies equipped with a range of ISR capabilities should collaborate and share its expertise with other enforcement agencies to further strengthen enforcement at sea.

“If we continue to manage our seas in fragments, as it is now, the overlapping of jurisdictions and conflicts of interests between the sectors will never be resolved,” he said.

He said the management of Malaysia’s seas must be based on balancing the use of the sea for economic activities without sacrificing the needs to maintain security, safety and marine environment, as per the nation’s Blue Economy and Maritime Domain Awareness.

He said the country still has more challenges to overcome in order to become a maritime nation.

“It cannot be done overnight but we have also undergone much as a nation to be able to identify and find solutions for most of our maritime related issues,” he said.

He said the National Maritime Conference 2019 can be the launching pad for Malaysia to chart its way as a maritime nation.

He believed the forum will assist the government in identifying critical issues that required attention.

“I look forward to hearing the outcome of this conference with the hope that it will assist the government in charting better policies which will in turn be the narrative in realising Malaysia’s Maritime Nation agenda,” he said.