After MACC seizure, minister promises new suits for firefighters soon
The Fire and Rescue Department will issue a tender for the purchase 6,000 fireproof attire next month, said Housing and Local Government Minister Zuraida Kamarudin today.
This comes after firefighters were reportedly forced to wear old “unsafe” fireproof suits as the attire purchased two years ago did not meet safety requirements.
The Fire and Rescue Department will issue a tender for the purchase of 6,000 fireproof suits next month, said Housing and Local Government Minister Zuraida Kamarudin today.
This comes after firefighters were reportedly forced to wear old “unsafe” fireproof suits as the attire purchased two years ago did not meet safety requirements.
Zuraida said the firefighters will get their new suits in three months after the tender is issued in February.
Harian Metro had today reported that firefighters from nine fire stations were forced to use old fireproof suits after 6,000 new fireproof suits were seized by the MACC as part of their ongoing investigation.
While saying she had no details of the seizure, Zuraida said she believed the matter was not serious and well under control.
"If this is serious, then the matter would already have been raised (by the department) because they had no attire," she told media after attending a seminar on women in politics in Petaling Jaya today.
"We understand that happened two years ago. I remember they discovered that these suits failed to meet the specifications and were rejected," she said.
"We will re-look the tender process which was done two years ago [...] it's also time for us to issue a new tender," she added.
Zuraida said she wasn't sure if there were elements of corruption in the previous procurement process.
A shortage
The Harian Metro report quoted MACC as saying the suits were unsafe to use as they did not comply with the standards set by the Fire and Rescue Department.
MACC was reported to have seized some 6,000 of the problematic fireproof suits in 2017.
They were supplied in 2016 and cost between RM2,400 to RM2,500 a piece. Following the seizure, subsequent supplies were cancelled.
As a result, the report said the firefighters were facing a shortage of firefighting suits and had to share or use old ones.
The MACC clarified that its investigation did not prevent the Fire and Rescue Department from acquiring new firefighting suits.
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