By Jaythaleela K
MIRI, Oct 20: The Fire and Rescue Department of Malaysia (Bomba Malaysia) is planning to establish a safety water and rescue team (Swart) in Sarawak for water rescues and recoveries.
“We are planning to set up the Swart team in Sarawak to help us in rescue and recovery of a lost person in water; this includes rivers and coastline areas,” disclosed Bomba Malaysia director-general Dato Sri Mohammad Hamdan Wahid today in Miri.
He said the establishment of the Swart team is crucial for Sarawak considering of its size.
“In Sarawak, we have many hotspot locations identified as high-risk areas for drowning incidents, thus, the establishment of a Swart team here (Sarawak) is indeed a must to provide swift response,” Mohammad Hamdan said this during a press conference held after presenting 2020 Excellent Service Awards (APCs) to 93 Bomba personnel and ‘Pingat Kebesaran Jabatan’ to 24 other recipients.
Mohammad Hamdan added that the drowning rate in Sarawak is amongst the highest in the country.
“Sarawak contributed about four to five times in our big data in terms of drowning deaths,” he said.
In Malaysia, deaths involving drowning are between 450 to 500 annually, compared to fire incidents.
Three Sarawak Ministers also received the “Pingat Kebesaran Jabatan’ for their supportive roles in assisting Sarawak Bomba during Covid-19.
The recipients were Minister for Transport Sarawak Dato Sri Lee Kim Shin, Minister for Local Government and Housing Dato Sri Dr Sim Kui Hian and Assistant Minister for Tourism, Arts and Culture Datuk Sebastian Ting.
Also present at the award presentation were Sarawak Bomba director Khirudin Drahman@Hussaini, State Bomba assistant director Tiong Ling Hii and Miri Bomba Zone 6 chief Supt Law Poh Kiong. — DayakDaily
