Govt to review allowances of firefighters

KUALA LUMPUR: The government will review the increase allowances of firefighters who belong to specialised and high risk units that has been stagnant at RM100 for many years.
Housing and Local Government Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin said that the ministry is aware of this allowance and the issue has been brought to the cabinet for discussion.
"We need to further study the salaries of these firefighters in the special units on the whole and review other allowances they may be getting," she said in a reply to a question by Tan Sri Annuar Musa (BN-Ketereh).
She said that she has been working towards increasing their allowances on the whole.
"The public services department is looking into it as they need to study their salary scales," she said.
She said their jobs are very high risk and the definitely need to get increased allowances.
"I urge the cabinet to revise their salaries and increase it," she replied.
This comes after the tragedy in Puchong Perdana on Oct 3 where six firemen lost their lives during a rescue operation.
The six frogmen from the Fire and Rescue Department drowned after they were swept away by strong currents during a search-and-rescue mission for a teenager who had fallen into a pond in the area.
Zuraida who is the Ampang MP was also asked by Steven Choong Shiau Yoon (Tebrau-PH) on what steps the government has taken to take care of the families of the fallen firefighters.
"At our last cabinet meeting, a sum of RM20,000 per family was approved and also the Selangor state government had decided to add an additional RM20,000," she said.
She said that the families will be getting insurance and allowances which the ministry is currently sorting out.
"The ministry is also looking into the housing of the families. We will also look after the welfare of the children of the fallen men as three of the families have little children," she said.
"This will be a priority for the ministry to take care of the welfare of the children and families," she added.
The six fallen firemen are Yahya Ali, 24, Mazlan Omarbaki, 25, Muhammad Hifdzul Malik Shaari, 25, Izatul Akma Wan Ibrahim, 32, Adnan Othman, 33 and Mohd Fatah Hashim, 34.
Barisan Nasional's shadow minister of housing and local government,Tan Sri Noh Omar said the government should speed up efforts to implement the critical allowance scheme for fire and rescue personnel.
Noh said the allowance is important to acknowledge the efforts of fire fighters and to place the Fire and Rescue Department in the same category as other enforcement agencies.
"Firefighters are unsung heroes. Their tasks nowadays are more challenging and unpredictable," he said.
"They carry out a serious duty and in risk of danger as any other enforcement agencies."