KUALA LUMPUR: Lawmakers are calling for the allowance for firefighters to be increased, heard the Dewan Rakyat.
A MP from Bentong, Young Syefura Othman (PH - Bentong) said that allowance for firemen should be increased as current allowance was not enough to meet the dangerous nature of their job.
Young Syefura said that the Fire and Rescue Department's initiative payment allowance does not match their workload and occupational risks.
"They not only need to extinguish fires but need to be ready 24 hours for emergencies and perform rescue tasks that are often high risk," she said.
She urged the Housing and Local Government Ministry to reconsider the allowance situation so that it matched their duties and was on par with other security service members.
Another lawmaker, Datuk Suhaimi Nasir (BN - Libaran) said he concurred with the Bentong MP.
He said that the allowances for firefighters have not been increased for a long time.
"The allowances for intensive work of RM110 for 12 hours is no longer relevant and should be increased to match the current situation," he said.
The allowance of RM200, and the rates of RM30 per operation was not equal to the risk that they take, he said.
He also said there were claims from firefighters that they were not given replacement leave after being on duty for more than 12 hours.
"Do not let the welfare of our security officers be sacrificed.
"The allowance of the firefighters should be improved in line with the tasks and risks that they face," he added.
