Malaysia plans to upskill fishermen and help locals reel in alternative job offers

MALAYSIA: Job opportunities and benefits from the Social Impact Management Plan (SIMP) will be seen once the Penang South Island (PSI) reclamation work begins. There will be some 600 marine and land-based jobs when reclamation is carried out over 18 months, with priority given to fishermen and local residents.

The positions range from licensed and professional roles to skilled and technical categories. Fishermen will also be given assistance in the form of bigger boats and engines, complete with accessories. Once the reclamation begins, there will be a 250m-wide navigation channel that enables them to go to sea regardless of the tide.

Recently, 11 fishermen took a seafarer course to learn about chartwork, rules and regulations, meteorology, basic training, general ship knowledge and general engineering. Permatang Tepi Laut fisherman Zazali Sirun, 55, said he appreciated the new knowledge.

“I have been a fisherman for over 20 years without knowing anything about maritime law. “Thanks to the opportunity from the Penang government through PSI, I have learned about counting nautical miles to plan my journey at sea, how to travel more safely and the regulations to abide by when at sea,” he said.

Eng Phaik Khoon, 49, from Gertak Sanggul, also said the seafarer course was useful to fishermen. “We learnt about maritime regulations and different types of buoys at sea,” he said.

Eng said although he had been a fisherman since he was 13, he didn’t know many things about navigating safely at sea before he attended the course.

Penang Infrastructure Corporation (PIC) chief executive officer Datuk Seri Farizan Darus said the project would foster growth for small businesses and amplify the multiplier effect within the entire southern community.

PIC is Penang government’s special purpose vehicle to implement the PSI project.

To date, 1,100 locals including fishermen have registered their interest for the available roles.

Source: The Star