Allowance for Mosar team not from dept – DG

The Fire and Rescue Department will not provide any monthly allowance to Mountain Search and Rescue (Mosar) in the state.

Explaining this here yesterday, Fire and Rescue Department director-general Mohammad Hamdan Wahid said the monthly allowance was instead given as a special grant from the government to all Mosar personnel for their contribution to the Fire and Rescue Department in various search and rescue cases at Mt Kinabalu.

“Previously, Mosar personnel were only paid RM6 per hour base which is also based on the time they are called for duty.

“But now everything has changed and Mosar team will now receive a monthly allowance which has been altered since May this year.

“These changes were made because we acknowledged their contributions to the department in terms of mountain search and rescue operations, and we hope with this new system, it will motivate them to continue their excellent services,” he said at the Sabah Fire and Rescue Department Hari Raya Aidilfitri celebration at the state academy in Sepanggar on June 22.

Also present were Sabah Fire and Rescue director Nordin Pauzi and senior officers.

Meanwhile, Hamdan said the department was still on track to build a new fire station in Putatan.

He said the chosen site for the new Putatan fire station was in front of Servay Hypermarket.

The acquisition of site ownership has also been made and is only awaiting some minor process before the construction can be carried out, he said.

For the Kimanis fire station, Hamdan said it was 98 percent completed and only need approval from the Public Work Department (PWD) before starting its operation expected by July.

“Two additional fire stations, namely in Sook and Pitas, costing about RM5million each, are expected to be completed and in operation by September.

“We hope with more fire stations, especially in the rural areas, it will help to shorten our response time during an emergency,” he said.