97 fire engines still 'grounded', waiting for spare parts for repair
Tuesday, 7 May 201911:24 PM MYT
SHAH ALAM (Bernama): Ninety-seven "grounded" fire engines belonging to the Malaysian Fire and Rescue Department (FRD) are still in the process of repair.
FRD director-general Datuk Mohammad Hamdan Wahid said the process of repairing the fire engines took time following the availability of spare parts which needed to be imported from abroad.
“We also need to go through a procurement process for us to get the government allowance to repair the fire engines,” he told reporters after attending a ‘Semarak Ramadan' programme jointly arranged by BIMB Holdings Berhad (BHB) and Berita Harian (BH) here Tuesday (May 7).
Also present were BHB chief executive officer Mohd Muazzam Mohamed and BH's Current Affairs and Commercial executive editor Datuk Ahmad Zaini Kamaruzzaman.
“The number of engines that cannot be used stands at 20%, including the grounded ones, so 80% can still be used and this is good enough for the department,” he said.
Previously, the media reported that the failure of suppliers to provide design and installation of equipment according to specifications was believed to be the main cause of fire engines purchased in 2007, 2010 and 2014 to be "grounded".
Meanwhile, Mohammad Hamdan called on FRD staff to emulate the spirit shown by the late Muhammad Adib Mohd Kassim, as a civil servant in the department.
He said the death of Muhammad Adib during the riots at Sri Maha Mariamman Temple, Subang Jaya, in November last year, while carrying out his duties by setting aside personal safety proved the he was a true public servant.
Muhammad Adib, 24, was seriously injured in the riot incident at the Sri Maha Mariamman Temple and succumbed to his injuries on Dec 18, 2018, at the National Heart Institute in Kuala Lumpur.
Mohammad Hamdan said besides Muhammad Adib, six other fire fighters who drowned while saving a teenager who fell into a disused mining pool in Puchong, in October 2018, were also dedicated civil servants who went beyond the call of duty. -Bernama
Read more at https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2019/05/07/97-fire-engines-still-grounded-waiting-for-spare-parts-for-repair/#6eXXAmSWpZDljkPO.99
