Khirudin (centre) presents ‘duit Raya’ to a young recipient while witnessed by (from left) Andy and Suna. — Photo by Peter Boon
SIBU (May 13): A new fire station has been planned to be established in the Bukit Lima area here, said Sarawak Fire and Rescue Department (Bomba) director Datu Khirudin Drahman.
He revealed that this proposed fire station has already been included in Bomba Sarawak’s plans and if materialised, will be the fourth one here after Sibu Central, Sungai Merah and Sibujaya.
“I remember years ago when I was the head of Bomba in Sibu, there was only one fire station to cater for the whole of Sibu. But now, we have Sungai Merah and Sibujaya — because of development, the government built extra.
“But we are proposing Bukit Lima in our planning. Once Bukit Lima area is developed, the fire station will be there. Even in the Kemuyang area, Jalan Oya — due to the Pan Borneo Highway, we are also proposing to build a fire station there,” he told reporters after officiating the ‘Majlis Jalinan Mesra Aidilfitri 2023’ at the Sibu Central fire station here on Friday night.
The Bukit Lima fire station was among the proposed fire stations sighted in a list, with others including Julau, Dalat and Matu.
On a related matter, he noted that Deputy Premier Dato Sri Dr Sim Kui Hian had appealed to the federal government to take into account Sarawak’s geographical spread and demographic uniqueness when considering requests to build new fire stations in the state.
He said that Dr Sim had highlighted the matter during a courtesy call to federal Minister of Local Government Development Nga Kor Ming on May 11.
Meanwhile, Khirudin revealed there are 1,245 fire points located across Sarawak.
Among those present at the event were Bomba Sibu zone chief Andy Alie and Sibu Central fire station chief Suna Kaha.