"Our representatives in Tawau have helped us in ensuring that the rights of the abducted fishermen are fulfilled by their employer," Kirana noted in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday.
Samsul Saguni, 40, and Usman Yunus, 35, who were working on a local fishing vessel in the Semporna waters in the Malaysian state of Sabah early Tuesday, were abducted by a group of people armed with M-16 rifles on early Tuesday.
Both fishermen are from West Sulawesi Province with passports issued in Palopo District of South Sulawesi Province.
Two other crew members survived the abduction attempt, as they had hidden themselves in one of the fishing boat`s compartments. They later reported the incident to the police in Semporna.
Both the police and Eastern Sabah Security Command (ESSCOM) confirmed the abduction, which is the first of its kind in the past two years.
Spokesman for Sabah Police Omar Mammah confirmed the abduction, saying that the police are still investigating the motive behind the abduction.
He noted that the two fishermen were sailing on a boat when the armed group kidnapped them and then took them to an unknown location.
The police believes the abduction case has to do with a kidnap-for-ransom (KFR) group but had yet to receive any request from any party for ransom.
Shortly upon receiving the report of abduction, the Indonesian Embassy in Kuala Lumpur immediately took action to save the two fishermen.
Both the indications of the kidnappers or request for ransom still remain unknown.
"It is indeed an eye-opener for Indonesia and Malaysia to further increase security (cooperation). It is not easy to do so in such vast seas, but this (incident) should not happen again," Kirana noted.
Currently, some three thousand Indonesian fishermen are working in Malaysia. In addition to the latest abduction of two fishermen, three other Indonesian fishermen are still held hostage to date.
Reporting by Agus Setiawan
Editing by Yashinta Difa Pramudyani
Reporter: Antara
Editor: Sri Haryati
Copyright © ANTARA 2018
