ALOR GAJAH: A total of 107 people remain missing due to drowning incidents in Malaysia over the last five years, according to the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA).
MMEA acting deputy director-general Rear Admiral Mohd Zawawi Abdullah said the figure forms part of 336 drowning incidents recorded from 2020 to Aug 26 this year, involving 499 victims in total.
“Out of the total, 216 victims drowned while 176 were rescued. The remaining 107 have yet to be found.
“This figure is not a mere statistic but a tragic reality of families losing their loved ones,” he said after attending a beach clean-up campaign held in conjunction with World Clean Up Day 2025 at the Pengkalan Balak beachfront here on Saturday (Sept 20).
Rear Admiral Mohd Zawawi said that this is why the MMEA consistently emphasises the importance of wearing a life jacket when going out to sea.
He said many of these incidents occurred during school and long holidays.
On a separate matter, Rear Admiral Mohd Zawawi revealed that the agency has obtained information on the suspects who rammed one of its patrol vessels during a high-speed chase on Tuesday (Sept 16) night.
He said the incident began when the Lumut Sea Surveillance System (Swasla) detected a suspicious speedboat believed to be carrying undocumented migrants and heading towards Tanjung Rhu waters off Sepang, Selangor.
“An MMEA patrol craft was deployed to intercept before it was struck near the maritime boundary of Negri Sembilan.
“Two of our officers were injured in the collision and I have visited them personally and both are in stable condition, in good spirits and determined to return to duty,” he said.
Rear Admiral Mohd Zawawi said the suspects are believed to be members of a syndicate involved in human trafficking across the Straits of Malacca.
“These syndicates enter our country illegally and injure our people,” he said, adding that the groups have been promoting risky sea journeys through social media to lure passengers.
“We know they were advertising and coordinating these crossings online, promising quick landings along our shorelines,” he said.
He said several networks from a neighbouring country are believed to be running routes from Dumai, Indonesia, to landing points in Selangor, Negri Sembilan and Melaka.
“We will intensify our patrols not only to curb human trafficking but also to tackle other smuggling activities along our maritime boundary,” he added.
