Hajiji
KOTA KINABALU: Chief Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Hajiji Haji Noor wants the MERS 999 (Malaysia Emergency Reaction System) standard operating procedure (SOP) to be improved so that the fate that befell four family members in Penampang on Tuesday is not repeated.
He said that the incident was very upsetting because safety issues such as a fire should not be referred to Kuala Lumpur first and it wasted time (that could be used) to rescue the victims.
“When the call is known to be from Sabah and there is an emergency, why is it not connected directly to the relevant authority such as the fire station at the district or state that is involved or give a telephone number that can be contacted?” he admonished.
“There is no need to ask too many questions because each call to the MERS 999 is without any doubt related to an emergency. We must be sensitive to the situation and in an emergency, of course panic will result and there is no time to give all the information needed.
“I hope the SOP in the MERS 999 is changed and made easier including directly connecting the calls to the number or district of state that is involved,” he said in a statement on Thursday.
Hajiji was commenting on the alleged delay response by the Sabah Fire and Rescue Department firefighters following a fire that killed a family of four in Taman Hungab, Penampang on Tuesday.
Matthew Wong, 50, his wife, Jecky Vun Kon Fong, 47, and their two sons, Brandon, 18, and Eric, 15, were burnt to death as they could not open the padlock of the grille at the emergency exit window.
The Chief Minister also urged the public to keep telephone numbers of the police station, fire station and hospital so that they can easily ask for help when there is an emergency.
“Aside from MERS 999, keep the telephone numbers of the police station, the fire station and the hospital,” he said.
The fire incident in Taman Hungab has raised questions on whether it is wise to centralise the MERS999 in Putrajaya.
From the statement of a witness to the media, there appeared to have been delays
because the responders were asking too many questions as they appeared not to know where Penampang was located.
The media report said that the caller felt that he wasted a lot of time explaining the
location of Penampang and Donggongon.