BAYAN LEPAS: "It felt like coming back from the dead."
This was how fishermen Muhammad Ikmal Hakimi Ismail, 22, and Nor Hasrul Abdullah, 25, described their ordeal after they were reported missing at sea since last Monday.
They were rescued by Indonesian fishermen yesterday after their fishing boat, which encountered an engine problem, drifted into international waters.
The Indonesian fishermen then sent them to Malaysian waters before they were handed over to the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency and brought back safely to the Jeti Limbongan Batu Maung here early this morning.
They were welcomed by loved ones, friends, and Southwest district police chief Assistant Commissioner Sazalee Adam.
Muhammad Ikmal said they thought their lives would end at sea, especially when they were hit by a storm on the first and fourth days. He added that many things went through their minds but they just perservered and "tawakal" (placed their trust in Allah).
"Nobody would have thought that we would make it out alive. We even told ourselves that was it, especially when the storm hit us on the fourth day.
"We are just so grateful and thankful to have made it back alive and safe," he said.
Muhammad Ikmal said their nightmare started when their fishing net got entangled with another when they went to sea at about 3pm last Monday. He said when they tried to pull at their fishing net, their engine encountered a problem.
"We called our 'towkay' for help and he said he would send help over. I also called my mother to tell her what happened. That was the last we could use our phone.
"A few hours later, someone, who was on their way out fishing, came over to hand us an anchor. We thought we could safely make it back home then.
"However, we tried in vain. By then, water had entered into our boat. We then removed the anchor and threw part of our fishing net at sea, hoping to lighten the weight. Instead, this caused our boat to drift," he added.
Muhammad Ikmal said that for the first three days, they could still see the Teluk Bahang hills.
"On the fourth day, we could only see the vast ocean. It was scary then as the waves and currents were rough due to the storm.
We saw a large vessel approaching and tried to swim towards it.
"Instead, the crew on the vessel took out a stick, wanting to hit us. They probably thought we were pirates. We were so scared and swam back to our boat. By then, we were at our wits' end and almost gave up.
"The following day, we started seeing many cargo vessel and thought we were at Penang Port. Little did we know that we had drifted to Indonesian waters.
"It was then some Indonesian fishermen saw us and took us with them. It was like being reborn again," he said.
Muhammad Ikmal said, on the first day, he ate some bread as well as Nor Hasrul's packed rice.
"After that, we ate the ikan temenung and cencaru we caught as drank the sea water.
"I even vomited twice as the raw fish tasted horrid but we had no choice," he said.
"After that, we ate the ikan temenung and cencaru we caught and drank sea water.
"I even vomited twice, as the raw fish tasted horrid, but we had no choice," he said.
Muhammad Ikmal said he and Nor Hasrul even fought among themselves to stay alive.
"We even pushed one another off the boat. That's how disoriented we were," he said.
Meanwhile, Nor Hasrul said they were overjoyed to be making it home alive.
He said that, being the skipper for more than a year, this was his first time encountering such an ordeal.
Yesterday, Penang Maritime director Maritime Captain Razali Kasim said they were en route from Indonesia to bring home the two men found safe in the country's waters.
The two were reported missing after their boat drifted off Kuala Sungai Pinang, Balik Pulau, last Monday.
Razali said upon receiving the latest information, the KM Burau vessel was immediately dispatched to the coordinates at the maritime border to retrieve the victims.
The journey spanned nearly 60 nautical miles.