MELAKA, Nov 2 — The Malaysian Civil Defence Force (APM) will continue the "Op Ramah” initiative nationwide, in preparation for the north-east monsoon, which is expected to start in the middle of this month.

Its chief commissioner Datuk Aminurrahim Mohamed said the move follows the agency’s observation of the effectiveness of Op Ramah, which was first introduced on May 26 and lasted until September 30, to deal with any possible threat or risk of disaster during the south-west monsoon.

"The objective of Op Ramah is to conduct patrols and monitoring at focal locations to prevent untoward incidents, apart from acting on minor reported cases such as the discovery of snakes and so on.

"Apart from that, APM also received several new assets, including about 225 motorcycles for its branches nationwide, for the convenience of rescue operations, including in Op Ramah,” he told reporters at the Home Ministry (KDN) Complex in Ayer Keroh, here today.

He said this to reporters after officiating the state APM assembly, which was also attended by the state APM director, Lt Col (PA) Kamarulsyah Muslim.

Aminurrahim added that APM will also improve the implementation of Kampung Siaga 221, which was created to increase the preparedness and early preparation of residents to face any disaster, by providing training to provide early feedback related to any disaster incident.

More than 14,000 APM personnel, including officers and volunteers nationwide, were also mobilised to face the monsoon, apart from the launch of the "SIGAP APM: Siap Siaga Monsun Timur Laut”, by the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Sabah, Sarawak Affairs and Special Functions) Datuk Armizan Mohd Ali scheduled for November 15, he said. — Bernama pic