KUALA LUMPUR – Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail has outlined the sequence of events leading to a January 24 incident involving Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) officers, which resulted in the death of an Indonesian national and injuries to four others.
According to Saifuddin, at around 2.58am, an MMEA patrol crew intercepted a suspicious boat near the waters of Pulau Carey, using a loudhailer to identify themselves. The boat then sped off, triggering a high-speed chase in the waters off Tanjung Rhu, Banting.
During the pursuit, the foreign vessel allegedly attempted to ram into the MMEA boat’s engine, raising concerns of a possible explosion. In response, enforcement officers fired warning shots into the air and at the boat’s engine in an attempt to halt it.
“(MMEA) personnel gave warnings using a loudhailer, released shots into the air, and their boat was hit (by the foreign vessel). It was at this point that the enforcement officers spotted machetes in the boat they were chasing,” Saifuddin told a press conference in Parliament today.
“We have to look at the situation in its complete context. If we were in the position of the enforcement officers who are protecting the sovereignty of our territory, and we are faced with a target that refuses to stop even after we have asked them to, what do we do?” he added.
The MMEA later received reports at around 9am of five men with gunshot wounds washing up on shore. One of them was confirmed dead after being examined by medical personnel.
When asked whether the officers involved had adhered to MMEA standard operating procedures or deliberately targeted individuals aboard the foreign vessel, Saifuddin said an internal agency investigation was underway.
He added that the police have also launched an investigation under several laws, including Section 39 of the Arms Act 1960, which regulates the discharge of firearms under specific conditions.
A man believed to have acted as a ‘transporter’ for the individuals aboard the boat has been arrested, with police investigating the case under Section 307 of the Penal Code for attempted murder, Section 186 for obstructing a public servant, and Section 26A of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Act 2007 for migrant smuggling.
The Indonesian Foreign Affairs Ministry previously said that two injured victims from the Riau province claimed there had been no armed resistance against the MMEA patrol team. However, local police asserted that officers had fired in self-defence after their patrol boat was rammed and the occupants allegedly attacked them with machetes.
Meanwhile, Saifuddin confirmed that the six MMEA personnel involved in the shooting would be placed on leave for the duration of the investigation.
He noted that the decision was made following discussions with Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Razarudin Husain and Selangor police chief Datuk Hussein Omar Khan.
He also revealed that the MMEA patrol boat involved was not equipped with CCTV cameras, and officers were not wearing body cameras at the time of the incident.
Although images of the damage sustained by the government vessel exist, Saifuddin stressed the importance of implementing additional security measures in the future.
When asked about the total number of occupants aboard the foreign boat, he said this would be confirmed through questioning the surviving passengers, who remain hospitalised in stable condition, as well as the arrested transporter.
He added that police would investigate how the transporter advertised his services and assured that a thorough probe would be conducted, urging the public to allow authorities the necessary space to complete their investigations.
On January 30, close to a hundred protesters threw eggs at the Malaysian Embassy in Jakarta over the fatal shooting. Some demonstrators carried banners calling for the arrest and prosecution of the MMEA officers involved.
The protest came a day after the body of the deceased, identified as a 50-year-old migrant worker, was repatriated and buried in his hometown in Riau. – February 3, 2025