TO strengthen emergency operations, especially in the rural areas, the Civil Defence Force (APM) has procured 100 units of four-wheel drive (4WD) ambulances which will be obtained in stages.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Sabah, Sarawak Affairs and Special Functions) Datuk Armizan Mohd Ali said the acquisition was made in four phases starting in July last year.
“The first phase of 30 units will be handed over to APMs in Sabah, Sarawak, Kedah, Perak and Pahang. Of those, eight units, specifically for Sabah APM, will be handed over by the second quarter of 2023 at the latest.
“The total number to be received
by Sabah and Sarawak is 15 units each, and 70 units will be distributed to all the states in the peninsula,” he told reporters after the Sabah APM Awards Ceremony involving a total of 204 recipients in Kota Kinabalu on Feb 19.
Armizan said the acquisition of four-wheel-drive ambulances can facilitate
the movement of rescuers to disaster sites, especially in areas with poor surface structure and physical road conditions such as those found in the interiors of Sabah and Sarawak.
He said to strengthen the role and functions of the APM, training and equipping the community with civil defence knowledge should be the main focus.
“Accordingly, the Civil Defence Volunteers Unit (ASPA) has been set up and members of the public who join ASPA will be given training until they obtain a certificate and a membership number.
“The training organised encompasses the basics of civil defence, including disaster management skills.
“APM’s goal is to achieve a target of 10 per cent of Malaysians having basic civil defence knowledge as recommended by the International Civil Defence Organisation (ICDO). Therefore, APM has intensified various programmes and activities to attract the community to join ASPA,” he said.
He said as of last month, a total of 1,972,077 ASPA members received training across the country, and in Sabah, the number of ASPAs trained was 196,651.
