Violation Of Procedures: EAIC Recommends Disciplinary Action Against DOF Officers

JOHOR BAHRU, Aug 27 (Bernama) -- The Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission (EAIC) has recommended disciplinary action against officers of the Department of Fisheries (DOF) over violations of approval procedures involving the transfer of ownership, relocation, and modification of a trawler vessel in Johor.

In a statement today, the EAIC said it had received a complaint alleging that five trawlers were approved without complying with the government’s Trawler Elimination Policy. An investigation was subsequently conducted under subsection 27(4) of the Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission Act 2009 [Act 700].

“The investigation found procedural violations in the DOF’s approval process for one of the five vessels under investigation. This involved applications for transfer of ownership, relocation of base, and/or modification.

“Such violations undermine the government’s efforts to effectively enforce the Trawler Elimination Policy and could have serious implications for the management of the nation’s fisheries resources,” read the statement.

Following the investigation, the EAIC referred its findings to the DOF Disciplinary Authority with a recommendation for disciplinary action against the officers involved, under Regulation 38 of the Public Officers (Conduct and Discipline) Regulations 1993 [P.U.(A) 395/1993], for disobeying orders as stipulated under Regulation 4(2)(i).

-- BERNAMA