Abang Johari (second right) and Dr Hazland witness the exchange of MoU between Zaidi (left) and Ruzairi. – Photo by Muhammad Rais Sanusi
KUCHING (Sept 15): A natural disaster response project titled ‘Technology Enhanced Stakeholders Collaboration for Supporting Risk-Sensitive Sustainable Urban Development (Transcend)’ has been launched in Sarawak to mitigate the negative consequences of natural disasters on communities.
Launched at Tegas Digital Village at Sama Jaya High Teck Park here, the programme is part of ‘A Collaborative Multi-Agency Platform for Building Resilient Communities’ (Mobilise) initiative to provide intelligence to government agencies in responding to natural disasters at a particular locality.
Mobilise is a project that provides multi-agency collaboration model and collecting intelligence through space technology for real-time monitoring and 3D visualisation of real-time satellite data to support disaster response.
Sarawak has been chosen as a major case study in the country for the Transcend project as the state government strives to make cities resilient to future climate and disaster risk.
The launching ceremony yesterday was officiated by Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg, who stressed that speed and efficiency in data collection and processing were crucial to respond effectively to a natural disaster.
“What I am saying is that for any disasters faced, we must collect the data in advance and these data are from a convergence of data from multiple points. Then, we manage the data and inform the people in the locality affected by the disaster,” said Abang Johari.
Citing an example, he said Sarawak Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) was tasked with collecting data from different entry points during the Covid-19 pandemic, such as hotel and agriculture sectors, as well as to implement a tracking system to monitor the delivery of assistance.
“In a nutshell, the main system is to get all the data correctly based on the convergence of data, and the data must be obtained in real speed and real time,” said Abang Johari.
One of the outcomes of Transcend project is the ‘RESILIENT4WRD Lab: Resilient and Agile Cities for Future’ digital platform to support agency collaboration, and data and insight sharing to mitigate disaster.
Sarawak Multimedia Authority (SMA) is one of the local partners for the Transcend Sarawak 2022 and Mobilise projects.
SMA general manager Dr Zaidi Razak said Transcend would involve collaboration with a wide cross-section of stakeholders from the state government and federal agencies, government-linked companies, higher learning institutions, non-governmental organisations, private sector, community and the public.
He said the project was not only for the purpose of data collection but to benefit the state in disaster risk reduction using advancement and solutions based on technology to build resilience.
“In short, the Transcend programme can provide a quick response system, lessons learnt and best practices to build resilience, as well as reduce loss of lives and properties caused by damaging and unexpected disasters.”
Prof Terrence Fernando from University of Salford, United Kingdom and Associate Prof Dr Noralfishah Sulaiman from Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (UTHM) both delivered keynote speeches on the mechanism of the disaster response project.
Deputy Minister of Energy and Environmental Sustainability Dr Hazland Abang Hipni, UTHM vice chancellor Prof Dr Ruzairi Abdul Rahim and Malaysia Smart Cities Alliance Association chairman Dr Raslan Ahmad were among those in attendance.
The ceremony also saw two memorandums of understanding (MoUs) signed between SMA, UTHM and Malaysia Smart Cities Alliance Association (MSCA) to enhance collaborations toward the smart city concept.