Fire Dept Receives 42 Integrity-related Complaints As Of May - DG

KOTA BHARU, June 5 (Bernama) -- The Malaysian Fire and Rescue Department’s Integrity Unit has received 42 integrity-related complaints, involving its officers and personnel, as of May.

Its director-general Datuk Nor Hisham Mohammad said the highest number of complaints fell under misconduct, with 22 cases, followed by power abuse (eight), sexual harassment or scandal (four), enforcement issues (four), corruption (three), and misappropriation (one).

He added that the misconduct cases included five related to disciplinary issues, three cases of domestic violence, three involving social media misuse, two cases each of lavish lifestyle, fraud, and loan issues, as well as one case each of vandalism and negligence in duty, with three falling under other categories.

“Although we received 42 complaints related to the integrity of our officers and personnel, the department views these reports positively, as they serve as a preventative measure to curb future misconduct.

“In fact, thanks to these complaints, we’ve observed a significant drop in disciplinary actions - only 13 cases recorded this year, compared with 55 last year," he said.

He said this to reporters, after officiating a talk on governance, integrity and anti-corruption, at the Kelantan National Department for Culture and Arts (JKKN) Complex in Tanjung Chat, today, which was also attended by Kelantan JBPM director, Farhan Sufyan Borhan.

Commenting further, Nor Hisham said that out of the 13 disciplinary actions recorded this year, 11 involved absence from duty - a shift from previous years, where drug abuse was the most common offence among officers and personnel.

“We also observed an increase in complaints filed through the e-aduan portal and the Public Complaints Management System (SISPAA), with 95 cases recorded last year, compared with 87 in 2023.

“Of these, 60 per cent were internal complaints, while the remaining 40 per cent came from the public. Appropriate action has been taken on all issues raised,” he said.

-- BERNAMA