KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 26 — Malaysians were reminded not to engage in recreational activities at picnic areas or waterfalls throughout the northeast monsoon’s period, which begins in the middle of next month until March 2024.
Fire and Rescue Department director-general Datuk Seri Abdul Wahab Mat Yasin said they will work closely with the Forestry Department to ensure activities like hiking, camping, jungle trekking, and waterfall excursions are controlled.
“I advise the state governments and state disaster management committees to continue placing serious focus on controlling such activities, especially during the rainy season,” he said to the press after launching the department’s disaster readiness month 2023 today.
The Meteorological Department (MetMalaysia) previously announced there will be an estimated four to six episodes of heavy rainfall from next month until February 2024 that can potentially cause floods in at-risk areas.
Abdul Wahab added that the department has frozen 80 per cent of leave for its officers and personnel nationwide to prepare for the potential floods.
“We only allow leave for those who really need it or if there is some unavoidable matter,” he said.
Malaysian National News Agency (Bernama) journalist Mohd Firdaus Md Saisi, 38, and photographer Hairul Nizam Baharin, 49, received their special certificates of appreciation earlier at the ceremony as part of the 96 Turkiye search-and-rescue operation recipients.
The certificates were given to honour their contributions during the operation after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit southern Turkiye and northwest Syria on February 6 this year.
— Bernama
