KLUANG, Villagers from Kampung Tengah, Renggam, near here, who are currently in possession of arowana fishes they retrieved at an oil palm plantation after rearing ponds they were in broke, have indicated that they were willing to return them to their owner.
Renggan A Rukun Tetangga chairman A Sani Palal also claimed that the villagers were unable to return the fishes in their care as they do not know the real owner, and expressed hope that they would be ‘forgiven’ by the owner for consuming some of the fishes, which can be worth up to several tens of thousands of ringgit, during a communal feast, which went viral on social media.
‘We residents hope that the owner of the fishes will meet with us, and discuss on the process of returning the fishes,’ he said when contacted today, as he indicated their hope that there would be some form of compensation for them returning the surviving fishes.
‘It is a form of appreciation to the villagers who rescued the precious fishes, that can cost thousands of ringgit, f
rom dying, as previously we only knew there was a rearing pond but didn’t know who owned it,’ he said, relating that the villagers took the fish that escaped from the pond and were almost dead, and there had been some fishes they were unable to save.
He also shared that a special meeting will be planned involving the village elder, the village chief and a representative of the fishes’ owner to discuss the matter soon.
Meanwhile the fish breeder, Ng Ah Phau, has claimed that the fishes belonged to him and were reared in 13 ponds in Kampung Tengah.
‘Losses are around millions of ringgit when 15,000 arowana reared for 30 years escaped when the ponds broke,’ he said.
Johor Islamic Religious Affairs Committee chairman Mohd Fared Mohd Khalid meanwhile advised those who have taken the fish to return them to their rightful owner.
‘Clearly they belong to someone else and they know who the owner is, they should return the fishes to them, that’s what’s best,’ he said.
News that villagers in Kampung Tengah held a c
ommunal feast where they ate the expensive arowana fishes had gone viral on social media recently.
Source: BERNAMA News Agency
