The regional director of the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency, Zin Azman Md Yunus said they received an emergency call about the sinking of the boat and a rescue boat which was operating around Santubong waters was sent to the scene.

He said a forward base for the operation had also been set up at the Telaga Air jetty.

“The sea and weather conditions at the scene today were a bit turbulent with wind speeds of 20-30 km/h and wave heights of 1.5m to 2m. The search covered two to 20 nautical miles from the waters of Pulau Satang.

“The operation was postponed at 6.30pm after no clues were found and will resume at 7am tomorrow,” he said in a statement today.

Zin Azman also urged the maritime community to cancel their intention to go to sea if the weather was bad.

“Always wear a safety jacket as the weather conditions at sea at this time are not good, especially the northeast monsoon season, which starts from October to March,” he said.