| Rozainah Abdul Rahim |
KUALA LUMPUR (Bernama) – The experience of being fed with only rice and ‘tempe’ (a fermented soya bean product) for 10 months in Indonesia is a lifetime reminder for a deep-sea fisherman from Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan.
“Not only that, I had to stay in a small room measuring just 10 square feet with 30 other prisoners.
“We just slept on planks and use our own suitcases as pillows,” said Abdul Rahim Buyong, 52, in an interview with Bernama.
Abdul Rahim said he did not expect that his recklessness and that of his three other friends’ about 10 years ago would cause a big problem to them. “At that time, we were on a boat about 6.8 nautical miles off Port Dickson waters, which was almost beyond the border.
“We didn’t notice that we were already on Indonesian waters, but there is no point in regretting it now,” said the father of four.
In November 2005, Abdul Rahim and three others were sentenced to 10 months in prison in Dumai by an Indonesian court for encroaching into the country’s border.
On September 9 this year, four of his friends also suffered the same fate for not realising that they had encroached into the waters of the neighbouring country. “Even though they were using the Global Positioning System (GPS) to avoid getting lost in the middle of the ocean, they still entered Indonesian waters because of the bad haze,” he said.
Those arrested were Rozali Abd Rahim, 49, Jeffry Mohamad, 49, Nor Azman Mohamad, 41 and Mohd Sofian Alias, 30.
Meanwhile, Negeri Sembilan Fishermen’s Association chairman, Abu Bakar Dawam, said the four fishermen had been convicted in Indonesian court and would be allowed to return home early February next year.
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