DEPUTY Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has called for an immediate resolution to the recent shooting incident involving Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) patrol officers and migrant workers from Indonesia, which has since sparked strong reactions in the republic.

Zahid, who is also Rural and Regional Development Minister, hoped that the incident would not negatively impact the long-standing diplomatic ties between Malaysia and Indonesia.

“Action needs to be taken, whether the incident was accidental or intentional. We hope this does not affect diplomatic relations, particularly between government-to-government, business-to-business, and people-to-people relations,” he told reporters after visiting Media Prima News and Current Affairs Division facilities in Balai Berita, Jalan Riong, Bangsar today.

Earlier, Zahid spent about three hours touring the facilities before proceeding with the recording of Podcast BuletinTV3, hosted by Azaria Tagaya and Halim Mohamed.

Zahid said the incident was deeply regrettable, as Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto recently had his state visit to Malaysia. For this reason, he called on all parties to be fair in evaluating the incident, including those involved.

On Jan 24, Selangor police chief Datuk Hussein Omar Khan said a shooting incident in the waters off Morib Beach, Kuala Langat, left one person dead and four others injured.

Hussein told Bernama that preliminary investigations revealed that the incident occurred after the MMEA patrol boat was rammed four times by another boat, believed to belong to the suspects.

In the incident, two suspects, believed to be foreigners aboard the boat, allegedly attempted to attack MMEA officers with machetes in the waters off Tanjung Rhu around 3am.

“MMEA officers fired several shots at the suspects’ boat in self-defence. However, the suspects managed to flee under the cover of darkness,” Hussein said.

He added that at 9am the same day, the MMEA received a tip-off from the public about a boat adrift along the coast of Pantai Banting in Kuala Langat. The MMEA located the boat and found two men inside. One was pronounced dead at the scene, while the other was critically injured and was rushed to Tengku Ampuan Rahimah Hospital in Klang for treatment.

Hussein confirmed that police received a report regarding three men, suspected to be foreign nationals, who sustained gunshot wounds. They had sought treatment at the Sultan Idris Shah Hospital in Serdang.