Foreign Minister Anifah Aman says that he doesn’t believe claims that Indonesian President Joko Widodo wanted to sink illegal fishing boats.

"I do not believe that this was a statement that was said by the president and I will investigate these allegations," Anifah said.

In a few media reports that have been surfacing this week about over 200 Malaysians being detained for illegal fishing in Indonesia, it was reported that the president, fondly known as Jokowi, had said that firm action need to be taken against illegal fishing boats by sinking them.

"There is no need to arrest them [the illegal fishing boats]; just sink them," Jokowi was quoted as saying in a report by The Jakarta Post .

Anifah ( right ) added that his ministry had also not received any official consular notice from the Indonesian government regarding the arrests.

"The Malaysian embassy has contacted the Indonesian Foreign Ministry to get confirmation on the identity and location of the Malaysian fishermen that were arrested," he said in a statement today.

He also said that if the fishermen were arrested as reported, it goes against the memorandum of understanding (MOU) that was signed with Indonesia on Jan 27, 2012.

"Through the MOU, both countries reached an understanding only to chase out and not capture any fishermen caught fishing in the borders of Malaysia-Indonesia."

Reuters reported on Wednesday that the Indonesian government had detained 200 Malaysians that were found fishing illegally in its waters.

Indonesian cabinet secretary Andi Widjajanto told the news agency that this was among the new, bold moves taken by the government to combat illegal fishing as it has cost has caused a loss of US$24.7 billion (approximately RM92.1 billion) to the country annually.

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