Around 100 fishing boats surrounded and chased a Petronas survey vessel out of the waters near Ketapang, off the northern coast of Madura Island, in the Oct 17 incident.

“The incident did not require me to get in touch with Indonesian president Prabowo Subianto,” Bernama reported him as saying.

“Overall, our relations with Indonesia remain good and any border-related issues are resolved amicably as friends,” he said in the Dewan Rakyat today.

He was responding to a question from Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man (PN–Kubang Kerian), who sought clarification on the government’s position on border issues following the incident.

Petronas yesterday confirmed that its survey vessel was interfered with in Indonesian waters, leading to a temporary suspension of operations as a safety precaution.

The company said the Barokah-1 site survey vessel, operated by its subsidiary, Petronas North Ketapang Sdn Bhd, was approached by several fishing boats during operations, reported Malaysiakini.

In a video, fishermen were shown shouting at the Petronas vessel. They wanted it to stop operations as they claimed the vessel had damaged their fishing grounds due to the cables it was laying on the seabed.