Compiled by FAZLEENA AZIZ, C. ARUNO and R. ARAVINTHAN
THE Fire and Rescue Department intends to add 12 sniffer dogs to its K9 Unit in order to expand its operations to the northern region, according to Utusan Malaysia.
Its director-general Datuk Seri Mohammad Hamdan Wahid said the figure was an indicator given by the Economic Planning Unit of the Prime Minister’s Department.
And he hoped that it would be included in the 2023 Budget which is expected to be presented next month.
Mohammad Hamdan said the K9 unit is a special disciplinary unit, and the cost to purchase and train one dog could go as high as RM500,000.
“We (know we) have to be prudent because the government is facing financial constraints, but the people up north have constantly asked why the unit is only available in the Klang Valley and the southern region,” he added, saying rescue or investigation missions could be delayed when canines from other regions are deployed to the north.
> Harian Metro reported that people in the Sik district of Kedah have been waking up to chilly mornings in the past few days because the temperature has dropped to around 18ºC.
Zaini Abu Bakar, 38, said the cold weather had disrupted his family’s morning routine.
“It is a pity to see the children shivering from the cold morning showers.
“When I send my kids to school, we have to put on thick clothes to keep ourselves warm while riding on the motorcycle,” added the rubber-tapper of Kampung Sungai Siputeh.
Another resident, Nurul Asma Ghazali, 35, said she had to bathe her son in warm water before sending him to kindergarten.
“It is really cold, and my housing estate is surrounded by the morning mist.
“My children cry and refuse to take their showers in the morning,” said the mother of three.
Kedah Meteorology Department director Muhammad Khalil Abdul Aziz said the cold weather is normal as the northern states are in the second phase of the northeast monsoon season.
● The above article is compiled from the vernacular newspapers (Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and Tamil dailies). As such, stories are grouped according to the respective language/medium. Where a paragraph begins with this ‘ >’sign, it denotes a separate news item.