KUALA LUMPUR: There was a very drastic increase in the number of open burnings in the first two months of this year, contributed by among others, the extremely hot and dry weather, said Housing and Local Government Minister Nga Kor Ming.
He said in February, a total of 5,556 cases of such fires were recorded which is an increase of more than six times or 645 per cent compared to the 746 cases recorded in January.
He said among the states that experienced the highest increase were Kedah with 741 cases, Selangor (661 cases), Johor (505 cases) and Sabah with 534 cases.
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“Malaysia is currently in a phase of extreme hot and dry weather and is expected to have an impact on a significant increase in cases of open burning involving forests, fields, bushes and garbage fires.
“The surge in cases of open burning increased sharply, especially in Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, states in the north such as Kedah, Perlis and Penang as well as Sabah and Sarawak,“ he said when launching the Op Siaga Raya Aidilfitri 2024 at a shopping centre here today .
Also present was Fire and Rescue Department (JBPM) director-general Datuk Nor Hisham Mohammad.
Meanwhile, in a press conference, Nga said the country recorded a total of RM2.62 billion in fire losses last year, including various types of large-scale and domestic fire incidents.
Accordingly, he advised the public not to arbitrarily carry out open burning either for garbage disposal or for agricultural purposes in this dry season.
He said today JBPM has identified 652 hotspots that are at risk of open burning with focus locations including peatland and illegal waste dump sites as well as waste disposal sites supervised by the local authorities (PBT).
In the meantime, he said up to February, JBPM had inspected 4,900 buildings, including 558 shopping centres, out of the target of 17,000 buildings throughout the country this year.
Earlier, Nga handed over the first five units of compact fire rescue tender CFRT to JBPM to boost the readiness of the department.
Op Siaga is aimed to formulating an initial strategy for preparation and preparedness to face emergency incidents that may occur during the festive season.
Meanwhile, Nor Hisham said of the first five units of CFRT, two units each will be stationed in Selangor and Johor with one in Perak.
The five units are part of a total of 150 units to be delivered in stages until 2028, he said.
Commenting on preparations in conjunction with Aidilfitri, Nor Hisham said a total of 13,286 personnel and 2,168 fire brigades from 338 stations across the country are on standby to face emergencies throughout the festive season.
“Officers and personnel leave is limited to only 30 per cent of the total during the Op Siaga Raya Aidilfitri this time,“ he said.
He said JBPM also deployed 432 firefighters in 13 locations in addition to 34 special trucks in eight states throughout the assignment of Op Selamat in conjunction with Aifilfitri 2024 on April 8 to 13.
