2. DEVELOPMENT POLICIES, OBJECTIVES AND CONSTRAINTS

2.1 The New Economic Policy (NEP)

The development in Malaysia since the early 1970s has been guided by the New Economic Policy (NEP) with the objective of eradicating poverty, mainly within the Malay population, by restructuring the Malaysian society. Whilst satisfactory progress was made toward achieving the targets of the NEP during the 1970s, readjustments to the NEP strategy had to be made in recent years to cope with growing economic difficulties.

One of the strategies newly adopted to overcome such difficulties was the promotion of privatization. Since the size and extent of the Government activities in the economy had increased its financial burden, it has been encouraged to transfer the ownership and control of the existing Government service or investments to the private sector, wholly or partially. It was conceived that privatization would assist in reducing the Government's burden of maintaining the extensive and costly services and promoting greater efficiency and productivity without affecting the growth of the economy. Privatization will be implemented, where appropriate in the management of fishermen's relocation programmes within the context of the NEP.

2.2 The National Agricultural Policy (NAP)

The overall strategy, objective and policy of agricultural development are contained in the National Agricultural Policy (NAP) which was formulated in 1984. The objective of the NAP is the maximization of income from agriculture through the efficient utilization of the resources and the revitalization of its contribution to the overall economic development of the country. The share of the agriculture sector in the economy in Malaysia had been declining over the last three decades; i.e. 59% of the GNP in 1950, 38% in 1960 and 23.0% in 1980, although in absolute terms there was a steady growth in agriculture output from M$646 million in 1960 to M$6,926 million in 1982.

The declining trend in the primary industry is the normal process of the structural change that accompanies economic development in which other sectors, particularly manufacturing, grow faster than the agricultural sector. The Government however considers it imperative to arrest the declining trend of the agricultural sector and reappraise its strategies and policies to meet its ambitious development goals.

The sustained high growth in Malaysia has raised per capita income from US$371 per annum in 1970 to more than US$2,000 (estimated) per annum today. Experience shows however that a rapid growth of the GNP does not automatically reduce poverty and inequity nor does it provide sufficient productive employment within a reasonable period of time. The poverty that exists among small farmers in Malaysia is not absolute poverty characterized by persistent and recurring starvation and famine, but relative poverty whereby the level of income among the large number of small producers is considerable lower than that of income earners in other sectors of industry. Poverty is more widespread in rural areas than in urban areas. Since Malay are predominantly residing in rural areas, the incidence of poverty is by far the highest among Malay. Poverty eradication, mainly oriented toward the Malay population, is therefore to be achieved not only by increasing productivity but also by reducing income disparity between ethnic groups as well as between rural and urban areas.

For fisheries in particular, the NAP stresses the need for modernizing fishing methods and the fishing fleet, and the importance of stepping-up efforts to expand offshore fishing. The termination of direct subsidy schemes for fisheries development is exempted for the promotion of offshore fishing. It also attaches high priority to the development of aquaculture in order to augment the domestic supply of fish, fully exploit the export earning potential of the industry and provide additional income-generating rural development. In the context of fish production, the government wishes to attain self-sufficiency by 1990 and achieve a surplus for export by the year 2000.

2.3 History Of Fishermen Relocation Programme In Malaysia

2.3.1 Steering Committee for Resettlement of Surplus Fishermen

The Steering Committee for the Resettlement of Surplus Fishermen was established in 1972 during the 32nd Meeting of the “National Action Council” for the purpose of coordinating and supervising fishermen's relocation projects in relation to land development schemes. It comprised representatives from the following departments and agencies:

  i.   Ministry of Agriculture (Deputy Chief Secretary - Chairman)
 ii.   Fisheries Department (DOF)
iii.   Fisheries Development Authority (LKIM)
 iv.   Veterinary Department (DOV)
  v.   Agriculture Department (DOA)
 vi.   Finance Department (DOF)
vii.   Economic Planning Unit (EPU)
viii.   Ministry of Land & District Development
 ix.   Labour Department (DOL)
 ix.   Federal Land Development Authority (FELDA)
  x.   State Government

2.3.2 Achievements and Reorganisation of the Committee

Under the policy guidance of the Steering Committee, the DOF resettled about 1,000 fishermen in FELDA schemes of Terengganu, Pahang, and Johor during 1976 and 1980 under the Third Malaysia Plan. In addition, 426 fishermen were selected to take part in paddy plantation in 1981 and another 100 fishermen were resettled in the Kandis tobacco project in Kelantan in 1984.

Whilst the Steering Committee had accomplished to siphon off more than 1,500 fishermen from the fishing sector during 1972 and 1984, the problem of surplus fishermen became more serious in recent years. The Government, therefore, considered it necessary to revitalize the Steering Committee and it was decided to expand its terms of reference in 1985 as follows:-

1. To identify employment opportunities in other sectors of industry besides land development schemes;

2. To secure more places in the land development schemes

3. To determine and secure places in the vocational training institutes in order to train fishermen in manufacturing skills and techniques;

4. To coordinate with all the departments and agencies concerned.

Several other agencies joined the Committee which include the Agriculture Bank of Malaysia (BPM), the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI), the Malaysian Agriculture University (UPM), the Socio-economic Research Unit (SERU) and the Council of Trust for Indigenous People (MARA).

2.3.3 Development Plan

Development efforts to be made by the Committee can be divided into three phases: Phase one is to prepare a policy paper with regard to the FRP; Phase two is to identify projects for the resettlement of surplus fishermen; Phase three is the implementation of relocation projects.

The Committee envisages to relocate a total of 10,500 fishermen under the Fifth Malaysia Plan (1986 – 1990) comprising 4,500 for agriculture sector, 2,500 for manufacturing, 1,900 for small-scale business, 1,600 for aquaculture and 1,000 for off-shore fishing. The proposed amounts of allocations required for various programmes are M$280.12 million¹.

¹ Not yet approved. For further details see Appendix I.

2.3.4 Role of the Concerned Agencies

The functions and responsibilities of major agencies involved are set out as follows:-

1. Agricultural Bank - responsible for the administration of any credit scheme as well as the training of fishermen in small-scale business;

2. DOF - responsible for identifying problems on excessive fishing effort, management measures and fishermen's registration and ensuring the optimum number of fishing vessels;

3. LKIM - responsible for the implementation of relocation programmes, identification of potential settlers, arrangement for vocational training for fishermen, facilitating transfer of fishermen to other sectors of industry;

4. Labour Department - responsible for seeking employment opportunities for the fishermen who are interested in changing their occupations;

5. FELDA - responsible for absorbing the interested fishermen in various land schemes.

6. MARA and KEMAS - responsible for providing training to fishermen in related fields.

2.4 Recent Trends In Malaysian Fisheries

2.4.1 Production Trends

The total marine landings in Peninsular Malaysia ¹ increased from 370,000 tons in 1973 to 610,000 tons in 1983. This represents an annual increase rate of 5.1 percent for the period (Table 1). The pace of the increase in output has however been somewhat sluggish in recent years, accounting for 1.5 percent during 1978–83 as compared to 7.3 percent during 1973–78, although a record catch of 650,000 tons was experienced in 1981. In the past, landings by trawling were by far the most important in terms of quantity. Over 50% of the total production was derived from the trawling sector in 1978, while the share of trawl catches has declined recently, constituting 37% of the total output in 1983. This trend of decline can be attributed to over exploitation of demersal resources on the West Coast.

In contrast, the growth of purse seine fisheries has been significant during the period under review; the production of which more than doubled reaching 200,000 tons in 1983 with an annual increase rate of 8.4%. The share of purse seine catches increased from 24% in 1973 to 32% in 1983. To a large extent the high levels of output were the result of a fairly general increase in catches across a wide variety of pelagic species.

¹ In this paper discussions will be centred on Peninsular Malaysia unless otherwise stated.

Source : Annual Fisheries Statistics, 1973–83, Department of Fisheries

Traditional fisheries have also made a steady growth to reach 190,000 tons in 1983 with an annual increase rate of 3.7% during 1973–83 and accounted for over 30% of domestically produced marine supplies. The most important traditional fishing gear is the drift net both in terms of numbers in operation and contribution to landings. During 1983 over 10,000 drift nets were operated which accounted for about 10% of the total marine catch.

Commercial fishing gears (i.e. trawl nets and purse seines) represented 31% of the total unit of gears in 1983, whereas they constituted nearly 70% of the total output in weight and 64% in value (Table 2 and Statistical Annex A).

¹ The ex-vessel value was calculated based on the assumption thatit corresponded to 25% of the retail price of fish in average

Source : Compiled Based On Annual Fisheries Statistics 1981, 1983. Department of Fisheries

2.4.2 Productivity

The change of productivity in fishing during 1981–83 is shown in Table 2. The productivity of trawl fishing augmented from 16.09 tons per fisherman per annum in 1981 to 17.29 tons in 1983, an increase of 7.5%. The labour productivity expressed in ex-vessel value rose from M$6,819 per fisherman per annum in 1981 to M$8,043 in 1983, an increase of 18%. The purse seine operations also achieved a remarkable growth. For example, the annual catch productivity of anchovy purse seine rose from 9.34 tons per fishermen in 1981 to 13.43 tons in 1983, indicating an increase of 44%. In terms of value it went up from M$15,819 per fishermen in 1981 to M$20,585 in 1983. With regard to traditional fisheries, drift gill nets, lift nets and hooks and lines showed a substantial increase; particularly the increase of productivity in hooks and lines was notable (21% in weight and 20% in value). This growth of catch productivity in traditional fisheries was largely caused by the decreased number of boats as a result of the gradual phasing out of the small-powered and non-powered vessels, and the consequent decrease of the number of fishermen, although there was an overall decline in catches between 1981 and 1983. In other words, the rate of decrease of fishermen was higher than that of decrease of catches.

One may perhaps wish to see here the effect of the removal of fishermen and vessels in relation to the increased returns to those who remain behind.

2.4.3 Regional Disparity

Regional differences are fairly distinct between the West Coast and the East Coast. Landings on the West Coast show a gradual increase over the past six years (Table 3). There has been a decline in the number of fishing boats in recent years due to the phasing out of unproductive fishing vessels. Such a decrease has consequently affected to the number of fishermen which declined to about 47,000 in 1983 from a peak of 60,000 in 1980. The productivity of both the fishing fleet and the fishermen has made a steady increase during 1977–83 (Table 3). Labour productivity was 9.4 tons per fishermen in 1983 which was 1.6 times higher than that on the East Coast. Likewise, productivity in terms of value per fisherman reached over M$6,500 in 1983 which was over 1.7 times higher than the amount obtained on the East Coast. During 1977–83 the average annual rate of growth in production was 2.7%, while in terms of value it was 8.3%, indicating that the share of high value species such as penaeid shrimp has been high (in 1983, the total output of penaeid shrimp was 10% of the catch by weight, but 35% in value).

The average annual catch on the East Coast represented some 40% of that of the West Coast (1981–83 averages of some 172,000 tons on the East Coast as compared to 437,000 tons on the West Coast). Generally speaking, production has largely fluctuated on the East Coast. As in the case of the West Coast, the number of fishing fleets as well as fishermen has tended to decline as a result of the gradual phasing out of unproductive fishing vessels. The downward trend in the fishing labour force is largely attributed to the rural-urban drift which is consequential in the rapid growth in other sectors of the economy.

Source : Compiled Based On Annual Fisheries Statistics Average 1977 – 1983 Department of Fisheries

¹ - The value of landings (ex-vessel value) was calculated assuming that it corresponded about 25% of the retail price of fish

2.4.4 Catch Per Unit Effort (CPUE)

The productivity of fishing needs to be analyzed in terms of catch per unit effort (CPUE) from the resources point of view. A comparison was made on CPUE between 1981 and 1983 based on the quantity of fish taken by each haul (Table 4). The trend in CPUE is almost identical to the rate of growth in production and a declining trend in trawl fishery has been evidenced in this respect. In 1981 the average catch per haul in trawl fishing was 74.17 kg, while it declined to 73.2 kg in 1983, a decrease of 1.3%. In the past there was a period when the CPUE drastically declined. For example, according to the survey conducted on the West Coast (Pulau Langkawi/Pangkor) by the Fishery Research Station in Penang, the average catch taken by trawler was 131.1 kg per hour in 1970, whereas it dropped to 58.99 kg in 1980 indicating a sharp decrease of 55%. On the East Coast the average catch obtained by trawler in one hour's operation was 515.6 kg in 1970, whereas it went down to 143.8 kg in 1980 or a decrease of 72%. The recent rise in the CPUE might be related to the stricter enforcement of the management measures for regard to demersal resources implemented by the DOF.

In contrast to the trawl fishery, the growth of the CPUE in purse seine fishing was spectacular. Anchovy purse seine had 185.5 kg per haul in 1981 while it augmented to 450 kg per haul in 1983, indicating an increase of 143%. Likewise, other purse seine operations achieved a noticeable rise, too. As for traditional fisheries, hooks/ lines nets registered an increase of 86% from 17.93 kg per haul in 1981 to 33.4 kg per haul in 1983. It must be however pointed out that since purse seine fishing depends on migratory species, significant increases in production might have been related to the circumstances outside of Malaysian grounds. In fact, hooks and lines are operated in off-shore waters.

Source : Compiled based on the Annual Fisheries Department of Fisheries.

The CPUE measured in terms of fishing days is also presented in Table 4. There was in general a large drop in the number of fishing days from 1981 to 1983. However, since the rate of decrease in catches was generally lower than that in fishing days, there was an overall increase in the CPUE expressed in fishing days. The trawl fishery showed an increase of 11% from 202.98 kg/fishing day in 1981 to 225.1 kg/fishing day in 1983. Anchovy purse seine fishing increased its CPUE from 456.3 kg/fishing day in 1981 to 1,254 kg/fishing day in 1983, an increase of 175%; hooks and lines from 28.87 kg/fishing day to 46.64 kg/fishing day, showing an increment of 62%.

It should be noted that above calculation was made on the assumption that large differences in catching efficiency (e.g. the size of the net) did not occur between 1981 and 1983 because the time frame was short.

2.4.5 Significance of the problem

Statistics have thus evidenced that the economic productivity as well as fishing productivity in terms of CPUE have been increasing over the years. Also the overall poverty situation in the fishing sector had improved significantly since 1970. The incidence of poverty in the fishing sector in Peninsular Malaysia continued to decline from 73% in 1970 to 63% in 1975 and 55% in 1979. In 1983 the Government estimated that 45% of the total 40,500 fishing households had incomes below the poverty line - the income required to provide basic nutritional and other non-food requirements. Despite the high rate of improvement, there are however still numerous fishermen who live below poverty line.

The field survey conducted by the TCP/MAL/4403 in 1985 disclosed that the majority of the fishermen interviewed answered that their average monthly income ranged from M$201 - 250 including incomes from secondary employment ¹.

The continued existence of poverty in fishing communities despite the high growth rate in labour productivity points to the substantial inequity in the income distribution in the fishery sector. Most of the difficulties - the extremely uneven pattern of income distribution could be partly concerned with the traditional sharing system² and the existing marketing structure, and they are often outside the control of government policies.

¹ It must be noted in this context that the great majority of fishermen who came to the interview were traditional fishermen who were either crewmen for commercial boats or owner operators of uneconomic boats such as outpowered boats, sampans, etc. The level of income would have been higher if many commercial boat owners were involved in the interview.

² For further detail, see Chapter 4. Section 4.1. Also refer to Foot Note in Page 39.

A basic reason for poverty and income inequality in Peninsular Malaysia is the low level of boat ownership and the existence of a large number of uneconomical vessels. In 1983 there were 9 400 uneconomical vessel (i.e. 2 200 non-powered boats and 7 200 outboard powered boats) in Peninsular Malaysia, accounting for over 35% of the total number of vessels. Even commercial boats are often not equipped with modernized equipment such as sonars, power blocks etc.

The other factors contributing to the poverty of traditional fishermen include their geographic or socio-economic isolation from the economic mainstream, intense competition among traditional boats over a limited quantity of resources, rising operating costs, and frequent encroachment of commercial fishermen on nearshore fishing grounds. In addition a higher population growth onshore (estimated at approximately 2.9 percent per year) should also be taken into account.

Resources presently available to Peninsular Malaysia do not appear to offer much prospect for further growth of landings. In the West Coast the resources of demersal and pelagic species in inshore waters within 12 miles have been overexploited. In the East Coast, pelagic species have been overfished and present catch levels of demersal species have approached close to the potential in inshore waters. Although offshore fisheries may provide a certain degree of opportunities for further development from the resource point of view, a question as to whether such operations would be economically viable or not will have to be answered with a successful demonstration. Attempts to encourage Malaysian fishermen to venture offshore fishing have not met with success yet.

Because of the limited scope of development from a resource point of view, and the strong relationship between the poverty in fisheries and the large proportion of fishermen having no fishing boats of their own or uneconomic boats too small to provide full time employment and income above the poverty line, the Government has taken steps where possible to syphon off impoverished surplus fishermen to more lucrative occupations.

2.5 Objectives And Policies Of The Fishermen Relocation Programme (FRP)

2.5.1 Justification and Objectives

The possibility of raising income and quality of living among traditional fishermen is constrainted by the limited quantity of fishery resources. Relocation of under-employed marginal and subsistence fishermen has now become of increased importance and urgency, not only because of their poor status but also as a result of the critical state of inshore fishing resources. The fishing effort exerted on inshore waters is excessive and there is a need to reduce the number of vessels and fishermen in order to achieve the optimum level of exploitation.

The Government has therefore launched a long-term solution to poverty in the fishery sector through the Fishermen Relocation Programme (FRP) which would entail a generation of alternative employment or supplementary income for surplus or under-employed fishermen. The concept which lies at the heart of this Programme is twofold; one is to uplift the standard of living of poor fishermen by offering them alternative employment opportunities and the other is to decrease in absolute terms the number of fishermen as well as fishing vessels in order to reduce the impact of fishing efforts to resources particularly inshore waters. Implementation of the vessel Buy-Back Programmes is being planned by the Department of Fisheries (DOF) in the latter context. An additional advantage of the FRP would be the contribution to the alleviation of conflicts and competition between traditional and commercial fishermen over the resource base and markets by decreasing the number of fishermen who share the same fishing grounds.

It is a prerequisite for the implementation of the FRP that any reduction in the quantity of labour force should not lead to a decline in the national level of production. Consequently, it is envisaged that the production will then be shared by lesser number of fishermen and thus give rise to a higher marginal productivity of labour to fishermen who remain behind.

2.5.2 Surplus fishermen

The situation of the labour force in the fishing sector in Peninsular Malaysia is characterized by under - employment where an additional unit of labour does not increase the marginal output. This arises partly as a result of the imbalance between labour and capital on resources. The problem with surplus fishermen displaced by modernization of fishing vessels or gears has not yet distinctly emerged in Malaysia (though a few cases were observed by the survey team in Kuala Kedah). Surplus fishermen in Malaysia is therefore synonymous with underemployed fishermen who are working at the subsistence level for very low returns under the circumstances of limited capital and resources, low prices and poor marketing system.

There has been a growth and decline in the number of fishermen during the last decade from 75 965 in 1973 to 75 590 in 1983 with a peak of some 89 000 in 1980. According to the DOF, there is presently a surplus of 27 676 fishermen which account for 37% of the total number of fishermen in Peninsular Malaysia (Table 5). Surplus labour estimated by the DOF was based on the assessment of available fish resources. Biological limits to the annual sustainable production of marine resources were first determined and on the basis of this, the optimum number of fishing boats and crew size were calculated for each category of fisheries, i.e. trawlers less than 40 GRT, purse seiners and traditional boats. The criterion on surplus labour for the traditional fishery sector was based on the standard of living rather than the impact of fishing efforts on resources.

¹ These are generally called commercial fisheries, characterized by wooden boats between 25 GRT to about 70 GRT operating in Zone B and C with one to five days.
² These are characterized as fishing boats (usually smaller than 25 GRT) operating all types of gear except for trawl nets and purse seines.

Source : Statistics on the licensed vessels according to the types of Fisheries, 1983 Department of Fisheries (unpublished).

Table 5 shows that there are 4 339 surplus trawlers with a surplus of 13 385 fishermen and a total of 170 surplus purse seine boats with a surplus of 2 749 fishermen. It is estimated that there are some 11 500 traditional fishermen who are operating uneconomic non-powered or outboard powered boats. It should however be pointed out that in the above calculation no allowance was made for population growth and the consequent entry of new fishermen particularly into traditional fisheries.

a. Traditional Fisheries (Zone A)

According to Table 5 there are more surplus fishermen on the West Coast (7 419) than on the East Coast (4 123). In the entire Fisheries Development Areas¹ there are some 4,300 traditional fishermen to be siphoned off, of which 2,500 are on the West Coast and 1,800 on the East Coast (Statistical Annex B). It means that there is a substantial number of surplus fishermen in non-FDA areas, too.

b. Purse seine classified as fish purse seine (Zone A)

Presently 219 purse seine boats are operated in Zone A which are considered excessive. The optimal level of boats is 152 and therefore 67 boats with 1 098 fishermen are to be siphoned off (Table 6).

¹ See Chapter 3. Section 3.1

Source : Annual Fisheries Statistics, 1973–83 Department of Fisheries

c. Purse seine classified as anchovy purse seine (Zone B and C)¹

Table 7 indicates that the optimum number of purse seiners on the West Coast is 368 as compared to 397 which are currently in operation, so that 29 boats with 319 fishermen will have to be siphoned off. On the East Coast, the optimum level is 109 as compared to 176 and thus 74 boats with 1 332 fishermen need to be siphoned off.

¹ On the East Coast the boat belonging to this category is operated both in Zone B and C, while on the East Coast it is operated in Zone B only.

Source : Annual Fisheries Statistics, 1973–83 Department of Fisheries

d. Trawlers less than 40 GRT (Zone B)

The present level of fishing effort in Zone B by trawlers less than 40 GRT (i.e. 6 216) is considered significantly higher than the optimum level (i.e. 1 877). It is envisaged that 4 339 trawlers involving 13,385 fishermen are to be siphoned off. There are however labour requirements for trawl fishing in the Pahang state (Table 8).

Source : Annual Fisheries Statistics, 1973–83, Department of Fisheries

¹ Zone A: Within 5 nautical miles (n.m.) of the coast in which trawling is prohibited

Zone B: From 5 – 12 n.m. of the coast in which the only trawlers allowed to operate are owner-operated trawlers of less than 40 GRT.

Zone C : From 12 – 30 n.m. of the coast in which any vessel owned and operated by Malaysian may operate.

Zone D: From 30 n.m. to the outer boundary of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in which any vessel may operate, subject to agreement by Government.

2.5.3 Vessel Buy-Back Programme (VBBP)

This programme was planned by DOF and is to be executed by DOF. The purpose of the VBBP is to reduce the fishing effort - expressed in numbers of vessels in the inshore waters which would result in fishermen being left unemployed and therefore interested in employment elsewhere. The idea is to offer cash to the fishermen for the withdrawal of his vessel and at the same time an alternative employment opportunity elsewhere. The VBBP is planned on a national scale, which means it will cover both the Fisheries Development Areas (FDAs) and non FDAs.

DOF is planning to buy back about 3,188 vessels and relocate about 5,500 fishermen under the Fifth Malaysian Plan (1986 – 1990) with the total cost of about M$20 million.

Estimated VBBP Costs For Period 1986 – 1990

2.5.4 Fishermen's Registration System

The preparatory phase of the Fishermen's Registration System is under way and it is expected that actual implementation will start around mid 1986. Such registration is a pre-requisite for successful implementation of the FRP as it will limit entry into the fishery sector. It would also give advantages to the implementation of fisheries management measures, credit schemes and community development programmes.

As the first step in September 1985, DOF issued a format for completion by fishermen. Based on these formats which will have to be submitted by January 1986, DOF will prepare and issue a registration card to each fisherman. DOF will not issue a card to new entrants. Both boats owners and crews must hold a registration card. The card will provide the following information.

Boat owner: (a) Boat number; (b) Tonnage; (c) Year of Construction (d) Base (district); (e) Main gear used; (f) Subsidiary gears used; (g) Name of boat owner; (h) Identification Card (IC) No.; (i) Colour of IC; (j) Address of boat owner; (k) Race; (1) Citizenship; (m) Owner-operator or non-owner operator.

Crew: (a) Name; (b) IC No.; (c) Colour of IC; (d) Nationality; (e) Date of birth; (f) State of Birth; (g) Professional Rank onboard; (h) No of years working as fisherman; (i) Address; (j) Marital status.

2.6 Progress in the Implementation of the Fishermen Relocation Programme (FRP) by DOF and LKIM

As mentioned earlier, DOF relocated 1,000 fishermen to FELDA schemes under the Third Malaysia Plan (1976–80). LKIM has so far arranged to relocate a total of 742 fishermen to offshore fishing (and is still under process), aquaculture and FELDA schemes over the years under various development programmes. In addition, LKIM has sponsored 231 fishermen and their family members to attend vocational training courses since 1983. Achievements made by DOF and LKIM in the field of relocation programmes are indicated below.

a.	Offshore fishing (LKIM)	180 (since 1983)
b.	Aquaculture (LKIM)	173 (since 1981)
c.	FELDA (LKIM)
d.	FELDA (DOF)	1000 (1976 – 80)
e.	Training programmes for small scale industry (LKIM)	231 (since 1983)
		973 (fishermen)

a. Offshore fishing

Under the Boat Ownership Scheme, a total of 22 boats (each having a tonnage of 40 GRT or above) have been approved, benefiting approximately 180 fishermen. These boats are either trawlers or purse seiners to be operated in Zone C or D. At present, 47 applications for the Scheme are under consideration and if approved, the Schemes will create another 300 job opportunities for traditional or commercial fishermen to engage in offshore fishing.

b. Aquaculture

Under the Fourth Malaysian Plan (1980 – 85), LKIM has carried out a number of aquaculture projects as shown below.

About 110 fishermen have been absorbed as permanent workers (project staff) and another 473 fishermen participated in the projects in full time or part-time employment as shown in Table 9.

This table shows that only 173 fishermen out of 664 are involved in aquaculture activities on a full-time basis while 410 are on a part-time basis. The latter are mostly found in cockle farming and cage culture projects. It has been encouraged by LKIM since 1984 that any aquaculture project except for cockle farming should be carried out on a full time basis with a strong commitment from fishermen.

c. FELDA

Whilst nearly 390 fishermen were relocated to FELDA schemes since 1983, there was no close collaboration between LKIM and FELDA in the past. LKIM has, however, made positive steps toward building a close working relationship with FELDA in 1985 under the assistance of the FAO TCP/MAL/4403. During the field survey¹ conducted by the TCP/MAL/4403, of 2 300 fishermen interviewed, 1 164 fishermen indicated their willingness to join FELDA schemes (though 449 were unqualified because of the age and marital status).

¹ See Chapter 4. Section 4.2.

FELDA has been very cooperative in responding to the result of the survey. As a matter of fact, FELDA agreed during the Central Steering Committee meeting held in Kuala Lumpur in October 1985 that it would accomodate 600 eligible fishermen annually. Study tours were organized to FELDA model projects in the states where the survey was conducted i.e. Johore, Pahang, Trengganu, Perak, Kedah (Table 10). An application form was filled by the interested fishermen to submit it to FELDA. In Pahang most of those who submitted applications have already been interviewed by FELDA.

d. Upgrading of Skills and Entrepreneurship (Training programmes for small-scale industry)

Provision of training courses is carried out in such fields as bricklaying, carpentry, electric motor mechanics, radio and television. Most of the training is provided at the Industrial Training Institute (there are a total of four institutions of this kind in Peninsular Malaysia). LKIM has so far sponsored 231 fishermen for training in those fields. Additional courses are also arranged for small-scale business. To date 579 fishermen have attended basic business awareness courses conducted by other public agencies such as the Malaysia Agricultural Research and Development Institute (MARDI) and the Council of Trust for Indigenous People (MARA).

In spite of the LKIM's efforts to provide various types of training programmes, it is a pity that the great majority of those who attended the courses still remain in the fishing sector. One of the main reasons is the lack of capital funding to start business. This has prompted LKIM to propose the setting up of a scheme to assist the interested fishermen in securing loans from MARA or Bank Pertanian for their business venture.