Armed Forces arms itself for flood rescue ops

SEGAMAT: A RM10mil one-off allocation has been approved for the Armed Forces to purchase additional rigid-hull inflatable boats (RHIBs) and seven-tonne trucks to be used during flood rescue operations, says the Defence Minister.

Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan said the allocation was approved by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim as part of the Defence Ministry’s preparations to face non-conventional threats.

“During the post-Cabinet meeting on Friday, we were informed that the Armed Forces was given an allocation of RM10mil to purchase RHIBs and trucks.

“Currently, the Armed Forces is using assault boats for rescue operations, but this is not suitable as the hull is quite big, so it cannot enter flooded areas that are shallow.

“We need RHIBs with a flat hull that can move deep into housing areas to transfer rescue personnel or flood victims.

“The seven-tonne trucks are needed as they can move into cut-off areas that are not accessible to light vehicles and three-tonne trucks,” he told a press conference after visiting flood victims at SK Temenggong Abdul Rahman here yesterday.

Mohamad said his ministry needed to change strategies so that it could provide efficient rescue operations.

“We need to prepare and complete our assets to face non-conventional threats such as climate change. We even deployed assets from the Royal Malaysian Navy for the first time, which we don’t usually do, because of the severity of the flood situation in Johor,” he said, adding that 1,500 military personnel have been deployed so far.

He also said the Armed Forces is in the midst of finalising the specifications of the needed units before the ministry could proceed with the procurement.

“The assets will not be given only to Johor but also to Pahang, Kelantan, Terengganu, Negri Sembilan and other flood-prone states. We will place all of these assets based on the brigade command centre so that they can be easily deployed when needed,” he said.

Asked whether the Armed Forces should set up field hospitals, Mohamad said there was no need at the moment as they had deployed the Royal Medical Corps to help the Health Ministry conduct medical checks on flood victims at temporary relief centres.