KUANTAN, Nov 7 — Non-Bumiputera participation in the Student Civil Defence (Sispa) Corps is still low at less than five per cent in each recruitment, said Chief Commissioner of the Civil Defence Force (APM) Datuk Roslan Wahab.

He said the participation of more non-Bumiputeras was needed because their skills were very helpful in dealing with disasters, especially in communication.

"This low participation may be due to the lack of exposure to APM, such as what it does, its benefits and advantages as part of our family.

"By being a member of Sispa Corps, they get to attend various training that is very useful in daily life, especially during emergencies such as accidents and minor fire incidents,” he said.

Roslan said this at a press conference after the 12th National Level Sispa Corps Commissioning Ceremony in 2021 officiated by Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Special Duties) Datuk Mastura Mohd Yazid at Universiti Malaysia Pahang (UMP) Gambang Campus here today.

Also present were UMP deputy vice-chancellor (Student and Alumni Affairs) Prof Datuk Dr Yuserrie Zainuddin, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) Sispa Corps Commander Prof Datuk Dr Othman A. Karim and Pahang APM director Col (PA) Che Adam A. Rahman.

To date, 31 higher learning institutions (IPTs) including 19 public higher education institutions (IPTAs) have set up Sispa Corps, with APM providing a quota of 30 members per intake while IPTs can increase the number if they have their own allocation.

Roslan said since Sispa Corps was established in 2008, a total of 6,156 cadet officers had been commissioned as Second Lieutenants (PA) after successfully completing three years of training.

"Those who have been commissioned can also report at the state or district APM office after graduating from IPT to continue their duties and be eligible to receive allowances as prescribed,” he said.

At the ceremony, a total of 870 Sispa Corps cadet officers from 24 IPTs and an institute of teacher education (IPG) were commissioned with 17 of them being named the best Sispa cadet officers. — Bernama