KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 16 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has elevated the Malaysian Fire and Rescue Department’s (JBPM) K9 Tracker Dog Unit to greater heights by recognising its significant roles and improving the facilities and medical treatment for the canine under the Malaysia Madani Budget 2024.

In fact, even before announcing the special initiatives for the unit during the tabling of the budget last Friday, Anwar also called on all parties to commemorate Blake, the tracker dog involved in various search and rescue operations (SAR), including the landslide tragedy in Batang Kali, Selangor in December last year.

The English Springer Spaniel, however, was euthanised on September 19 this year after battling lymphoma.

JBPM deputy director-general (Operations) Datuk Nor Hisham Mohammad said when the Prime Minister mentioned Blake’s name in his budget speech, it was indeed a huge recognition to the department and the K9 Unit.

"And when he announced the allocation to improve the facilities and medical treatment for the JBPM’s tracker dogs and also to increase the number of dogs in this unit, it was indeed a golden opportunity for the Unit to further improve the quality of its services,” he told Bernama.

Nor Hisham said the JBPM currently had 30 tracker dogs, six of which were stationed in Sarawak, four in Sabah and the rest at the K9 Unit headquarters in Jalan Klang Lama, here.

"If you compare the number of K9 dogs in the peninsula with the number of cases we face, it is quite burdensome. Sometimes these dogs have to be mobilised as far as to Penang, and that puts a strain on them,” he said.

Therefore, he said the announcement of the RM5 million allocation to increase the number of tracker dogs will definitely enable the team to replace and expand the use of dogs in the four disciplines, namely fire, wildlife, urban search and rescue (SAR) and cadaver investigations.

Apart from JPBM, the RM5 million allocation announced by the Prime Minister also covers the K9 Units of the police and Customs Department.

"JBPM has also submitted an application for additional dog handlers specifically in Sarawak, as we are aiming for each dog to be handled by only one handler based on compatibility factor and to strengthen the partnership between the handler and the canine,” he said.

Nor Hisham also expressed hope that the government will approve the construction of a special quarantine kennel for tracker dogs that have just undergone surgery.

He said this is to help control and avoid the risk of infection if exposed to diseases while working in the field.

"We also have no expertise within the department or the K9 Unit to detect dog health issues.

"For now, we are just working closely with Universiti Putra Malaysia and the Veterinary Services Department to monitor the health status of the tracker dogs,” he said, adding that the health of all JBPM tracker dogs is at a satisfactory level. — Bernama