Hajiji and Armizan being briefed on APM four-wheel drive ambulance during the handover ceremony.
KOTA KINABALU (June 23): The Malaysian Civil Defense Force (APM) Sabah received eight of the allocated 15 four-wheel drive ambulances for use by the forces in Tuaran, Papar, Sandakan, Keningau, Pitas, Ranau, Putatan and Kalabakan.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Sabah and Sarawak Affairs and Special Duties) Datuk Armizan Mohd Ali said this acquisition will further enhance the role of APM in handling security, civil defense, emergency and disaster services in all corners of the country, especially in the interior.
“This facility is to empower the assignment of APM in accordance with the 1951 APM Act to train and equip the public in order to create preparedness in ensuring that the community is able to face any enemy threat, disaster or emergency.
“The most important thing is that we implement a new program which is the initiative to deploy four-wheel drive ambulances to Sabah, Sarawak and the Peninsula specifically for rural and inland areas as a priority,” he said during the handover ceremony at the Kinabalu Tower compound here on Friday.
Armizan added the most important foundation is to strengthen the national disaster management mechanism, which is APM as the secretariat to the Disaster Management Department at the district level and the Disaster Management Committee at the state level.
“We want to complete not only the human resources level but also the acquisition of assets to enable APM to function more effectively.
“This year we received a recommendation to supply four-wheel drive ambulances to certain districts because there are needs in rural areas of villages that cannot be accessed with normal ambulance facilities.
“Because of that, we introduced this initiative and this year we got 15 four-wheel drive ambulances each for Sabah and Sarawak,” he said.
According to him, eight units were given in the first phase while the remaining seven units sometime this year.
“We would like to thank Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim for approving this APM application and with the availability of these assets, we can strengthen the role of APM through the cooperation of leaders at the village level. We want APM’s devotional service to reach all corners of the country, including the interior,” he said.
According to him, previously APM had assets for ordinary ambulances, however there were constraints for the use of these vehicles, especially in areas that were difficult to access due to geographical constraints.
“For example, even though Penampang is located close to the state capital, there are areas that cannot be accessed by normal vehicles.
“This four-wheel drive ambulance belongs to the grade B category that allows staff to communicate directly with the hospital when transporting victims in the event of an emergency or disaster,” he said.
Also present were Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor, State Secretary Datuk Seri Safar Untong, Sabah Federal Secretary Datuk Makhzan Mahyuddin and APM Chief Commissioner Aminurrahim Mohamed.