LINGGI: Every morning, 69-year-old Ayub Hasri pushes his boat out to sea knowing there are no guarantees of a good catch.
After more than five decades as a fisherman, he said the uncertainty was no longer just about the weather.
For the fishermen of Kg Telok here, their livelihoods are facing growing pressure from infrastructure developments at sea.
“I am not against major projects. We know that there are benefits. But at the very least, we should receive some sort of financial aid as the marine ecosystem will be affected, which will further threaten our livelihoods.
“Even when these projects are completed, it can take at least a decade for the ecosystem to recover,” he said when met at the fishermen’s jetty here.
Ayub said fishermen often make multiple trips out to sea each day to put food on the table.
“Rain or shine, we have to find a way to make money,” he said.
Mohd Hasin Razak, 73, said the RM300 cost of living allowance allocated by federal authorities should come with fewer rules, especially for days out at sea.
“What if we fall sick? There have been cases where those who were unwell had their allowances revoked. It is not that they did not want to fish, but they were just not physically fit enough to do so.
“Loosening this criterion can give us some breathing space. Being a fisherman can guarantee us a meal, but getting rich from it is something out of reach,” he said.
Talib Baharon, 65, said any assistance for fishermen should come with simpler application processes.
“Not all of us are tech-savvy. Everything these days requires a smartphone and scanning various codes. Not all of us are able to understand this and it just becomes a nuisance.
“We are not fishermen because we want to be rich. We want to help our families and children have a better future,” he said.
At Kg Sungai Sekawang, part-time fisherman Radi Bahari Mat Junos, 41, is hoping that the jetty can be extended further out to make it easier for fishermen to dock their boats upon return.
“Currently, we have to wade through at least 50m of mud just to reach the shore during low tide,” he said, calling for wave retention walls to be built at the jetty and nearby villages.
“Boats have been sunk due to the strong waves and that itself incurs additional costs,” he said.
The Linggi seat will see a three-cornered contest, with Barisan Nasional incumbent Datuk Mohd Faizal Ramli facing Pakatan Harapan’s Datuk Seri Aminuddin Harun, who is also caretaker Mentri Besar, and Bersatu’s Datuk Zamri Md Said, who is making a comeback after narrowly losing to Mohd Faizal in the 2023 state polls.
