LABUAN, A Labuan Fishermen's Association will soon be established to benefit over 800 fishermen on this duty-free island. Labuan MP Labuan Datuk Dr Suhaili Abdul Rahman said the establishment of this state-level association was long overdue and that the association would be registered as soon as possible. "There has been considerable misunderstanding about the need to establish the Labuan Fishermen Association, which has left many issues plaguing local fishermen unresolved," he told Bernama today following the Labuan Fishermen Association pro tem committee's extraordinary meeting at the Malaysian Fisheries Development Authority (LKIM) Complex in Kiamsam. He said the meeting was held following a directive from the Labuan LKIM director to gain support from the Northern Region Fishermen's Association and the Southern Area Fishermen's Association. Currently, associations representing the fishermen are divided between these two groups, both under the Sabah Fishermen's Association (Pengasah). Dr. Suhaili said it made sense to merge these two associations into a single entity as Labuan is a federal territory. He said he plans to meet with the Agriculture and Food Security Minister to expedite the establishment of the Labuan Fishermen's Association. Earlier, Dr. Suhaili announced an allocation of RM20,000 to each fishermen's association from the Labuan MP's fund. Source: BERNAMA News Agency