SEMPORNA – A video of a Bajau Laut man on a wooden boat approaching a marine police patrol vessel has been widely circulated in social media since yesterday.
In the video, the man named Ladja was seen asking for food assistance from the marine police on patrol around Kg Hallo, here.
Ladja, although not not fluent in Bahasa Melayu, was able to tell the police that there are 27 households in Kg Hallo that are in need of food assistance.
According to Herman Majini, the marine policeman on duty, Ladja had chased down the patrol boat.
The video was posted by Herman yesterday and it was shared more than 1,000 times on social media. It ended with Ladja calling his fellow villagers to receive the 27 food baskets from the marine police.
Herman said the food assistance was provided by civil society group Hugs Project in the past three weeks had been actively donating to the Bajau Laut people, who are affected by enhanced movement control order (EMCO).
He added this is not the first time that the Bajau Laut folk had approached the marine police asking for food assistance.
Hugs Project founder Muhamadlaili Basir, 48, said the majority of the Bajau Laut people are fishermen, and since the EMCO many have lost their source of income because they cannot leave their villages to sell their catch in town.
“Some 70% to 80% of the population in Semporna depend on marine products as a source of their income. This has been put to a stop due to EMCO and conditional MCO in other areas in Sabah here.
“So, the people whom we are helping, not only did they lose their income but they have no savings. The Bajau Laut community depend on the sea and most of them are undocumented.
“They do not receive government assistance and they do not have a bank account.”
The Hugs Project, started in 2009, is focused on marginal groups, such as the Bajau Laut, in Semporna.
To date, Hugs Project has helped more than 2,000 families in Semporna’s water villages through distribution of food packs since September 30.
Kg Hallo is one of the smaller villages in Kg Bangau-Bangau that have been under EMCO since October 10.
Other villages affected in Kg Bangau-Bangau are Kg Bangau-Bangau Hujung and Kg Bangau-Bangau Darat.
Other localities under EMCO are Kg Ubian, Kg Panji, Kg Air, Kg Selamat, Kg Simunul and Kg Pinggir Bakau, which are all water villages.
“Hugs Project has been getting a lot of attention since some of our work in Semporna was shared on social media.
“We have since gained the trust from marine police. We work in accordance with SOP, such as wearing PPE suits,” said Muhamadlaili.
He also commended the relationship he has with all 25 civil society groups in Semporna that have been working together to help people in need. –The Vibes, October 25, 2020
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