Sabah firefighters will serve at home
KOTA KINABALU: Firefighters from Sabah currently serving in Peninsular Malaysia will have the opportunity to return home and serve in their homeland.
Disclosing this here yesterday, Sabah Fire and Rescue Department director Nordin Pauzi however said such a plan might be considered due to several factors, including additional number of new fire stations in Sabah.
“At the moment, we have about 1,000 officers and personnel in Sabah but due to additional fire stations, including those who would retire or resign, we need to fill in those gaps.
“In that regard, we will give priority to Sabahans who are now serving in Peninsular Malaysia to return and serve in Sabah because we know many of them would want to be closer to their families and loved ones,” he said at a press conference during the Training and Science Certificate Presentation Series 01/2017 at the State Fire and Rescue Academy in Sepanggar here yesterday.
The event was officiated by Fire and Rescue Department directorgeneral (training division) Mohammad Hamdan Wahid.
Also present were Sabah Fire and Rescue Department deputy director Zuraidah Latip and Labuan Fire and Rescue Department director Zainal Madasin.
Meanwhile, Hamdan said the department always received an overwhelming number of applications to be a firefighter.
“Say for example, if we have 500 vacancies, we can receive up to 30,000 applications.
“This shows that many people are interested to be a firefighter, but only those selected are chosen, depending on several criteria,” he said.
Hamdan said each candidate would be screened and once chosen they would move to the next stage, undergoing physical tests.
“Upon completion of their training, new graduates can continue their training to specialize in numerous fields within the department,”he said.
Yesterday's event saw 104 candidates completing their fourand-a-half-month training after undergoing physical and theory training last year.