Malaysia's maritime expanse is double our land mass and spans more than half a million square kilometres. Our seas contribute greatly to national wealth, especially as so much of global maritime trade passes through them.
It is odd then that only 63 per cent of our maritime domain has been surveyed to modern high-density hydrographic standards, as National Hydrographic Centre (NHC) director-general Rear Admiral Dr Najhan Md Said revealed in the New Sunday Times yesterday.
Malaysia has only a single hydrographic survey ship to map the remaining 37 per cent of our sea beds.
Worse, the NHC lacks statutory power, as it relies merely on a 54-year-old administrative memo and survives on cabinet whim.
