By V. Sivaji
Despite being in their fifties and sixties, it was a “deja vu” moment for nine fishermen who found themselves back in the classroom.
Among them was the lone fisherwoman, Fajinah Jaafar, 61 who succeeded in completing the Domestic Mate < 500 Gross Tonnage (GT) (Open) category.
This certification allows them to also take up to 12 passengers for leisure cruises or even fishing/angling enthusiasts and supplement their income.
Other graduates were Haris Abdullah, Loo Tang Nee, Muhammad Long, Muhammad Hafiz Abdul Karim, Muhammad Yasier Haris, Mohd Azril Yaakob, Mohd Noor Ismail and Nazeri Man at a ceremony held at the Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM).
They have now created history by becoming the first batch of fishermen to qualify for the certification under the Penang South Islands’ Social Impact Management Plan (SIMP) scheme.
The course covered topics ranging from chartwork, rules and regulations, meteorology, general knowledge of ships and engineering, general training and a “Restricted Operator Certificate”.
Lending support to the graduation ceremony was Penang Deputy Chief Minister 1 Dato Ahmad Zakiyuddin Rahman who presented the Certificate of Competency (COC) to the successful fishermen.
“The success in passing the seafarer’s test at the end of the course is inline with the state government’s intention to create more jobs and business opportunities for the fishermen under the Social Impact Management Plan (SIMP).
“After obtaining the seafarer’s license, these fishermen will have the qualifications to pilot passengers boats to supplement their income,” said Ahmad Zakiyuddin.
Also present at the ceremony was Penang Infrastructure Corporation (PIC) chief executive officer Dato Sri Farizan Darus, Marine department’s Northern Region Director Mohd Hafiz Abdul Majid and Akademi Maritim Penjana Ilmu Sdn Bhd managing director Mohamad Nazir Hamzah.
The graduation ceremony was organised by the Penang Infrastructure Corporations (PIC) and project delivery partner SRS Consortium with the cooperation of the Marine Department at Universiti Sains Malaysia.