PUTRAJAYA: The Fire and Rescue Department is consulting the Public Service Department (JPA) to resolve salary and pension arrangements for two Malaysian firefighters missing after a catastrophic climate disaster in Nepal.
The missing officers are Mohd Sani Harul, 59, Deputy Director of the Operations and Rescue Division, and Mohd Fakhrul Munir Mohd Isa, 44, an officer with the Air Unit (Paskub).
Both were on a personal, non-official climbing expedition to Everest Base Camp when massive flash floods and mudslides struck the region.
Speaking after the Public Sector Human Resource Management Conference on Monday (Sept 14), Fire and Rescue Department Director-General Datuk Seri Nor Hisham Mohammad emphasised the urgency of resolving their administrative status—particularly as Sani faces an upcoming retirement date.
“Sani is due to retire on Sept 23. Therefore, the process of continuing the salary and pension payment procedures will be referred to the JPA,” he said.
He said that for the other victim, Fakhrul, he still has a long period of service remaining and the process of confirming his death would have to be examined based on the relevant legal provisions.
“So we will refer the matter to the JPA to determine whether Nepalese law needs to be applied and whether confirmation from the Nepalese government is sufficient, or whether we need to use our own Act,” said Nor Hisham.
In a related development, he said the search for victims at the tragedy site now depended on the efforts of the Nepalese authorities after the previous search operation had been called off.
He said the terrain and the possibility that the victims had been buried meant new discoveries could still be made if rain caused the mud to loosen.
“If remains are found, the local authorities may make a report and DNA testing will be carried out,” he said.
He also said he had remained in contact with the victims’ families since the first day of the tragedy.
“Fakhrul used to be my driver when I was at the Fire and Rescue Academy, while Mohd Sani was previously a deputy director when I was the director in Pahang.
“We were very close, and I was also close to their families,” he said.
He said Mohd Sani, who made the initial decision to travel to Nepal, had also visited the country several times and knew people there, which helped coordinate movements and matters related to the search for the victims.
He said he had also taken the opportunity to visit Mohd Sani’s wife to check on her and offer his support to the victim’s family, encouraging them to stay strong.
The death toll from devastating flash floods and mudslides along the Nepal-China border has climbed to 1,420, while 5,649 people remain missing, according to the latest official figures, Anadolu Ajansi (AA) reported.
Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority said Thursday that the number of confirmed deaths in the country had risen to 1,377, with 5,130 people still missing, according to an update issued at 11am local time on Thursday (Sept 10).
