YB Nga Kor Ming
In a proactive move to avoid any untoward incidents at homestays and private accommodation providers, the Ministry of Local Government Development has inspected a total of 17,000 buildings in Penang to ensure their safety for the year 2024.
This on-going programme also includes buildings of all categories.
Its Minister, YB Nga Kor Ming told parliament recently that the Fire and Rescue Department will embark on this programme to ensure safety of members of the public
“The department will also inspect and install safety measures for the well-being of residents and guests.
“This measure other than providing safety will also help overcome losses incurred due to fire incidents and have a positive impact on the overall economy of the country by reducing the loss rate.
“In the month of January alone, a total of 4,027 accommodation providers and homestay premises have been inspected.
“In the month of February, the initiative has seen some 122 blocks in 22 public housing areas which are more than 30 year-old in Kuala Lumpur city centre being inspected”, added Nga.
He also added that other than fire hazards, the water supply for the fire department was also looked into.
“We are also happy to report that overall, we have inspected 405,529 fire hydrants all over the country. This number is a 100 per cent increase in the total number of inspections carried out comoared to the year 2023”, he said.
To this regard, the Ministry through the Fire and Rescue Department will increase the frequency of inspection on fire hydrants in a radius of seven (7) kilometers from the fire stations.
He also shared that as of now, the total number of fire hydrants recorded in the country in 2023 is
422,472 units and around 357,130 are under the Fire and Rescue Department while 65,342 units are private hydrants.
Another new pilot programme – namely, the Command, Control, Communication, Computerized and Intelligence system was launched on March 1, 2024 and is expected to be fully completed by Feb 2026 at a cost of RM47.74 million.
This project will also help reinforce their efforts to control and command of incidents based on the use of technology.