KONTAN.CO.ID - JAKARTA. President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo supports Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Susi Pudjiasti's boat-sinking policy.

“The sinking is a form of law enforcement. It is to show that we do not tolerate illegal fishing,” said Jokowi in Jakarta on Wednesday as reported by kompas.com.

Vice President Jusuf Kalla and Coordinating Maritime Affairs Minister Luhut Pandjaitan called on Susi to stop the implementation of the policy as the government had sunk more than 360 ships since the crack down started in 2015.

Jokowi said any policy introduced by the minister was in the best interest of the people. Read also: Minister Susi told to stop sinking fishing ships this year

Meanwhile, Susi said her policy was based on instruction from President Jokowi. “Pak Jokowi ordered us hand down tough punishments. Therefore, we implemented the ruling stipulated in Law No. 45/2009 on fisheries,” she said.

Jokowi, however, also told Susi that the ministry should focus more on increasing the maritime sector’s contribution to the economy. “Therefore, I told Ibu Susi to concentrate on the manufacturing of fishery products for export because our exports [in this sector] have decreased,” the President added.

Editor: Barratut Taqiyyah Rafie