Anding (right) symbolically hands over to Khirudin the mock key to the new station, as (from left) Mohammad Hamdan and Zuraida look on.
SIBU: Federal Minister of Housing and Local Government Datuk Zuraida Kamaruddin said more Sarawakians would be trained to become members of the Mountain and Cave Search and Rescue (Mocsar) team.
She said the first Mocsar team in Sarawak was established in Mulu National Park last year to assist in the missions of rescuing missing persons in jungles and caves.
In this regard, she said the department strove to reach out to more places, adding that four or five locations with caves and mountains had been identified to have its own Mocsar team.
“Members of the Mocsar team consist of the local people familiar with their own areas.
“We will train them to become a part of Mocsar team because they already have basic knowledge of their own areas,” she told a press conference, held after officiating at the opening of a new fire station in Sibu Jaya yesterday.
She added that trained Mocsar members would receive allowances, as well as kits and equipment for use during emergencies.
Mocsar is the latest unit formed by the Fire and Rescue Department (Bomba) to ensure that services could reach as many places as possible.
Other units include the Hazardous Materials Unit (Hazmat) that specialises in chemical materials; the Special Tactical Operations and Rescue Team (Storm); the Marine Rescue; and Rapid Intervention Motorcycle (RIM).
Zuraida said the units were like support system for both the people and the Bomba during times of emergency.
On the new Sibu Jaya fire station, she said it was a Category C facility costing RM5.8 million to build.
Meanwhile, Bomba director-general Datuk Seri Mohammad Hamdan Wahid said the setting-up of the new fully-equipped station was part of the department’s efforts in responding more effectively to fire incidents and other emergencies occurring in and around Sibu Jaya.
“I am confident that the station would be able to cater to the needs of the local community during any emergency,” he said.
With the completion of the new station in Sibu Jaya, Sarawak now has 36 fire stations.
Bomba Sarawak director Khirudin Drahman, Sibu Zone 4 Bomba chief Janggan Muling and Public Works Department (Central Region) manager Anding Unchi were also present at the event.