Indonesia to send fisherman home following two kidnapping incidents

SANDAKAN: A total of 15 kidnapping incidents and six attempts have been carried out by militant groups in southern Philippines involving Indonesian nationals in the waters of the Eastern Sabah Security Zone ( ESSZone) from 2003 to Dec this year.

Indonesian Consul- General in Kota Kinabalu Krishna Djelani said a total of 36 Indonesian citizens had been abducted while three others were wounded in the kidnapping attempts.

“Thankfully, most of the kidnapped victims have been released, though there are three more victims – one from the incident in Bodgaya Island, Semporna and two others in Pegasus Reef, Kinabatangan – are still held captive by the kidnappers,” he told reporters after meeting Indonesian fishermen here yesterday.

In Sabah there are about 1,700 Indonesians working in the fishery sector with 700 of them are working in Tawau, Semporna, Kunak and Lahad Datu.

Following two abductions that took place within the last three months, Krishna said he decided to send his people who worked as fishermen in Sabah to return home to prevent a recurrence of such incident.

“Thus far, 30 fishermen expressed their wish to be sent home while the rest are still in the midst of data collection process,” he said.

Krishna also reminded employers who would still send Indonesian fishermen out to the sea that they should bear full responsibility in the event that the fishermen being abducted while fishing.

“The employers have the responsibility to safeguard the wellbeing of the wives and the families of the victims as they have no other source of income,” he said, adding that a security meeting between Malaysia and Indonesia will be held soon in Kota Kinabalu.

Meanwhile, Indonesian Consul- General in Tawau Sulistijo Djati Ismojo expressed his gratitude to Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal for the latter’s suggestion that aggressive action should be taken against the armed kidnappers.

Ismojo also reminded the employers to equip their fishing vessels with good working communication tools apart from the Indonesian fishermen need to establish good relations with the security forces at ESSZone.

He said that all vessels with Indonesian crew on board to be affixed with stickers carrying hotline numbers for both Eastern Sabah Security Command ( ESSCom) and Indonesian Consulate for emergency purposes.