KUCHING, July 24: Special officers of the federal Ministry of Housing and Local Government (KPKT) will follow up on the proposed Special Service Scheme Allowance (Elaun Khas Skim Perkhidmatan) that was approved in March this year for Fire and Rescue Department (Bomba) staff.
In giving this assurance today, state Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) vice-chairman See Chee How said Voon Shiak Ni and Nurhanim Hanna Mokhsen, who were appointed KPKT special officers recently, would get an update on this proposal.
See said this when he, Voon and Nurhanim held a dialogue session with Bomba personnel at their Petra Jaya station today.
On March 23, former Minister of Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government Tan Sri Noh Omar announced that the allowance had been approved by then Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.
However, due to the change in federal government after the May 9 polls, the said allowance has yet to materialise.
But on July 12, KPKT Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin did say the decision to provide a special monthly allowance of RM200 to Bomba officers and personnel would be made known by the end of this month.
If approved, it will involve an annual allocation of RM35.4 million and benefit about 14,761 department workers.
Meanwhile, See said besides welfare issues, the dialogue session also included discussions on how KPKT could assist firefighters in their work, ranging from work safety to equipment needed.
“This is to recognise the effort, sacrifices and work of firefighters in coping with disasters, which place the agency on par with other enforcement agencies. We greatly appreciate what they have done to keep our community and properties safe,” said See.
Petra Jaya Bomba station’s officer-in-charge Muhd Mirza Dzalmira, who was present, expressed his gratitude to the trio for visiting his station today.
“After today’s dialogue, including Q & A session, we feel motivated and grateful to be given this token of appreciation, to all Bomba personnel. Our queries were also answered, and this will motivate us to continue and improve our efforts in delivering our fire and rescue services to the people,” said Muhd Mirza. — DayakDaily
