Polemics Over Sea Fence, Minister Trenggono Claims to Have Handled 196 Cases

JAKARTA - Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Sakti Wahyu Trenggono admitted that his party had handled 196 cases of the sea fence as happened in Tangerang waters, Banten.

"It needs to be known that 196 cases have actually been known, but so far the media have not exposed it," Trenggono said as quoted by ANTARA, Friday, January 24.

Apart from Tangerang Banten, said Trenggono, the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (KKP) has handled the case of a sea fence in Bekasi, Batam, Sidoarjo, Surabaya.

Most recently, the KKP sent a team to check the alleged ownership of a Certificate of Ownership (SHM) in the waters of Sumenep Regency, East Java.

"So actually it's like this, the lesson is yes, earlier I told the Chairperson (Commission IV of the DPR RI), to the leadership of Commission IV and all members of the DPR Commission IV, the lesson is now (many) care about the sea," said Trenggono.

"So far, frankly, we've been fighting, but the sea is like di kalin, so I feel grateful actually," added Trenggono.

He emphasized that his party acted quickly after finding or receiving reports regarding indications of violations of the sea space.

"So once that happens we act immediately. As we promised Commission IV of the DPR RI, we will reveal as soon as possible in accordance with our authority," explained Trenggono.

In handling these cases, said Trenggono, his party focused on administrative aspects according to the authority of the ministry.

Meanwhile, Chairman of Commission IV of the House of Representatives, Siti Hediati Hariyadi, or who is familiarly called Titiek Soeharto, hopes that the problem of sea fences that do not have a permit in the future can be anticipated, so that similar incidents do not occur again in the future.

Titiek emphasized the importance of preventive measures to prevent the problem of sea fences without permission that harm many parties in the future, such as what happened in Tangerang, Banten and Bekasi, West Java.

Titiek also revealed that many other regions face similar problems.

According to him, the importance of taking more proactive preventive measures is not waiting until the problem expands.

"We also get a lot in other areas of cases like this, don't wait for it to go viral before the action is taken, but maybe it will be anticipated from now on," said Titiek.