*click to enlarge the photo.
History and development of Kuala Kedah Voluntary Fire Brigade Department.
About 41 years ago, a terrible mishap happened in the state of Kedah Darul Aman, on the 4th of March 1968,at 11.20 a.m. a blaze had destroyed 95% of the houses of Kuala Kedah with a total number of 1200 shop houses and residential houses being turn into ashes. 6250 victims were made homeless.
The incident has made the residents of Kuala Kedah awared and realised the importance and the urgency in setting up a fire brigade service of their own to prevent further recurrence of such incident. On their own accord and determination, The Voluntary Fire Service of Kuala Kedah was set up on 24th May 1976. For the past 33 years, donations from the public is the prime source of fund to purchase fire fighting equipments.
Five years after the inception of this service, a used fire engine was donated to us by the Kedah and Perlis Fire Service Department. As a result of their notable and excellent performance in fire service, procurement of donations from the general publics is relatively easy. Thus, on the year 1989, another used fire engine was imported from Japan. The said fire engine costs 40,000 Malaysian Ringgit and was exempted from duties and road tax by the Government of Malaysia.
On the year 1990, The Kuala Kedah Voluntary Fire Service’s Committee decided to have their own building. A big scale donation campaign during Chinese New Year was launched. Lion dancers were employed in this donation drive and 270 000 Malaysian Ringgit was succesfully collected. A piece of land measuring 18 000 square feet, in the midst of the fishing village was donated by the State Government of Kedah Darul Aman. The Kuala Kedah Voluntary Fire Service Building was eventually build and is operational since the month of August 1991.
With their excellent track records in fire service and whole-heartedness to contribute to the community, their excellent contributions draw the applause of the community and the attention of the state government. Allowances were suggested by the state government for every members of this voluntary unit. Nevertherless, the offer was turn down by us. We deemed our contributions as a social service and as duties that should be performed by a citizen for our beloved country Malaysia.
Due to the notable and excellent contributions of this voluntary unit, our Chairman, Mr Lim Gim Hiang was awarded Bintang PKPB decoration, one of the highest fire service honour on the month of April 1993 for his brilliant leadership.
In recognition for the contributions of this voluntary unit to the local community and the state of Kedah, Kuala Kedah Voluntary Fire Service was presented The Guiness Effort Award by Guiness Anchor Company on the year 1993.
The said award was conferred by The honorable Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Haji Osman Bin Haji Aroff, the ex-Chief Minister of the state of Kedah Darul Aman on the 15th June 1993.
Another milestones was achieved by our unit when our role and contributions are highlighted and are included as a part of the textbook material in the new integrated curriculum for the primary schools. Our unit were mentioned as a role model in the textbook of Year 4 Local Studies, a compulsory text approved by the Ministry of Education and is being used in all vernacular school of West Malaysia, including Sabah and Sarawak in East Malaysia..
On November 1995, Kuala Kedah Voluntary Fire Service was again selected as the winner of the best Voluntary Fire Service during Quality Day 1995,
organised by the Kedah and Perlis State Government Fire Department.
On April 1996,
our Secretary and Commander being awarded Bintang PSB decorations by The Chief Director of Fire Department Malaysia, whereas in November 1998,
our Assitant Commander was honored the Vocational Rotary Service Award by the Alor Star Rotary Club.
Exhibits including pewter goblets, trophies and certificates of recognition pertaining to the excellence in fire service of this voluntary unit was displayed in the People Muzium of Malacca on the 9th April 1999. The event was officiated by The honorable Dato’ Dr Ting Chew Peh, the Mnister of Housing and Local Government to commemorate the history and development of fire service in Malaysia.
On November 1999, Mr Kho Chu Ju, the Executive Director of Hock Ju Auto Parts and Mr Chandra Segaran, the Executive Director of Daieshoji Company, jointly bear the costs of importing and purchase of another used fire engine from Japan for their ardent support to our community service.
On June 2000, our Deputy Minister of Housing and Local Government, the honorable Dato’ Peter Chin Fah Kui, made his official visit to our Fire Brigade Department here in Kuala Kedah. Dato’ Peter Chin was the first Senior Minister from the Federal Government to visit our headquarter since its inception and he was impressed with the attainments made by us thus far.
On the 22nd February 2001, the honorable Dato’ Seri Ong Ka Ting, the Minister of Housing and Local Government officiate the opening of our Voluntary Fire Service Building in Kuala Kedah. In conjunction with the event, the Chief Minister of Kedah, the honorable Dato’ Seri Haji Syed Razak also attended to give his blessings. The honorable Dato’ Beh Heng Seong, the State Exco member, cum Chairmain of Chinese Community Affair, have borned the total expenditures of the ceremony, amounting to 30 000 Malaysian Ringgit..
We would like to take this opportunity to express our gratification and appreciation to the Kedah State Fire & Rescue Department. It is the cordial relationship between us that make transfer of know-hows, sharing of experiences and dissemination of knowledge and improvement in service quality are made possible. With the commitment of the Kedah State Fire & Rescue Department in the movement of voluntary fire service, we will be able to upgrade the professionalism of performance and be in pace with the developments in fire fighting techniques practice elsewhere in the world.
Our dearest guests of honour, for your information, The Kuala Kedah Voluntary Fire Service has her own Doctrine for customers and has her own set of Total Quality Management Guidelines that serve as the guiding lights for each and every members in deploying the resources effectively and can operate smoothly with high consistency in the quality of service rendered.
On top of that, to prospect for new recruits from time to time is of utmost importance. This is to ensure no disruption in the voluntary fire service and a perpetual pool of new and fresh blood readily to take over the tasks.
Besides the above factors, the total commitment from the management, members of the unit is also needed. They should be constantly motivated from time to time so that they are geared up to an appropriate level or standard. Correct attitudes and mindsets such as sincerity, trustworthy, loyalty, endurance and with high degree of tolerance and self-discipline should prevail once total commitment is the norm. these are our doctrines and our recipes of success for The Voluntary Fire Service of Kuala Kedah.
With the spirit to serve our country on a voluntary basis, our code of conducts prohibits the members of this voluntary unit to receive any payment or emolument for their services. With this attitude of service above self, we gain high remarks and strong support from the public and society at large. With these guidelines, the managing committee is able to potray the potential of these younger generations that are truly willing to contribute and sacrifice for the well-being of our country.
Usually, the members of this voluntary unit frequently hold post-mortem meeting in order to analyse and identify inherent weaknesses in every aspects of our operations.
Steps are being taken constantly to overcome problems and measures taken to improve the qualities of our service. Such self-examining meetings are held every fortnightly. With this awareness, it is hope that the recurrence of past mistakes will be minimised if not avoided at all.
Check-lists were devised by ourself to ensure the adequacy of fire fighting equipments, periodic inspection of fire engines are well-documented. We also make sure that the equipments are adequate and readily deployable, but also are being kept in orderly manner and are easily accessible. This will ensure an optimal use of every equipment in our arsenal.
The Managing Committee also constantly having dialogues and discussions with the fellow members of the voluntary fire service to identify the needs, demands and problems of each other. Through frank and cordial dialogue, many problems can be resolved before it become a crisis that is growing out of scale and dimension that might jeopardize the harmony and reputation of our unit.
The fellow members of Kuala Kedah Voluntary Fire Service are also actively participate in the field work and inter-visit trips among other voluntary units to exchange ideas, insights and experiences. Members are also encouraged to participate in contests related to fire service in order to boost their morale and the image of our unit as a whole.
Before I excuse myself, I would like to apologize to our guests of honour, the Senior Officer of New South Wales Rural Fire Service and his entourage if our ways to receive our guests do not measure up to the usual expectation. I would like to bring to your attention that it is largely due to a communication barrier does exists among us as we use different languages and we hardly understand each others language. I believe the same scenario also happens during your visit to other parts of the world. For your information, the committee and our members come from all walks of life and they hardly use or utter a single word of English in their daily life. Nevertherless, the members of our voluntary unit are excited with glee and their hospitality can be felt easily. I believe, our Government Officers from the Kedah State Fire & Rescue Department can help us and offered themselves as interpreter during the interaction session afterwards.
We strongly believe with our relentless quest for excellence and the strong support from the community, together with an equally strong and committed involvement from The Kedah State Fire & Rescue Service Department, I have confidence that we as a team, will show excellent performance in the fire service and certainly will vow to scale new high.
History and development of Kuala Kedah Voluntary Fire Brigade Department.
About 41 years ago, a terrible mishap happened in the state of Kedah Darul Aman, on the 4th of March 1968,at 11.20 a.m. a blaze had destroyed 95% of the houses of Kuala Kedah with a total number of 1200 shop houses and residential houses being turn into ashes. 6250 victims were made homeless.
The incident has made the residents of Kuala Kedah awared and realised the importance and the urgency in setting up a fire brigade service of their own to prevent further recurrence of such incident. On their own accord and determination, The Voluntary Fire Service of Kuala Kedah was set up on 24th May 1976. For the past 33 years, donations from the public is the prime source of fund to purchase fire fighting equipments.
Five years after the inception of this service, a used fire engine was donated to us by the Kedah and Perlis Fire Service Department. As a result of their notable and excellent performance in fire service, procurement of donations from the general publics is relatively easy. Thus, on the year 1989, another used fire engine was imported from Japan. The said fire engine costs 40,000 Malaysian Ringgit and was exempted from duties and road tax by the Government of Malaysia.
On the year 1990, The Kuala Kedah Voluntary Fire Service’s Committee decided to have their own building. A big scale donation campaign during Chinese New Year was launched. Lion dancers were employed in this donation drive and 270 000 Malaysian Ringgit was succesfully collected. A piece of land measuring 18 000 square feet, in the midst of the fishing village was donated by the State Government of Kedah Darul Aman. The Kuala Kedah Voluntary Fire Service Building was eventually build and is operational since the month of August 1991.
With their excellent track records in fire service and whole-heartedness to contribute to the community, their excellent contributions draw the applause of the community and the attention of the state government. Allowances were suggested by the state government for every members of this voluntary unit. Nevertherless, the offer was turn down by us. We deemed our contributions as a social service and as duties that should be performed by a citizen for our beloved country Malaysia.
Due to the notable and excellent contributions of this voluntary unit, our Chairman, Mr Lim Gim Hiang was awarded Bintang PKPB decoration, one of the highest fire service honour on the month of April 1993 for his brilliant leadership.
In recognition for the contributions of this voluntary unit to the local community and the state of Kedah, Kuala Kedah Voluntary Fire Service was presented The Guiness Effort Award by Guiness Anchor Company on the year 1993.
The said award was conferred by The honorable Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Haji Osman Bin Haji Aroff, the ex-Chief Minister of the state of Kedah Darul Aman on the 15th June 1993.
Another milestones was achieved by our unit when our role and contributions are highlighted and are included as a part of the textbook material in the new integrated curriculum for the primary schools. Our unit were mentioned as a role model in the textbook of Year 4 Local Studies, a compulsory text approved by the Ministry of Education and is being used in all vernacular school of West Malaysia, including Sabah and Sarawak in East Malaysia..
On November 1995, Kuala Kedah Voluntary Fire Service was again selected as the winner of the best Voluntary Fire Service during Quality Day 1995,
organised by the Kedah and Perlis State Government Fire Department.
On April 1996,
our Secretary and Commander being awarded Bintang PSB decorations by The Chief Director of Fire Department Malaysia, whereas in November 1998,
our Assitant Commander was honored the Vocational Rotary Service Award by the Alor Star Rotary Club.
Exhibits including pewter goblets, trophies and certificates of recognition pertaining to the excellence in fire service of this voluntary unit was displayed in the People Muzium of Malacca on the 9th April 1999. The event was officiated by The honorable Dato’ Dr Ting Chew Peh, the Mnister of Housing and Local Government to commemorate the history and development of fire service in Malaysia.
On November 1999, Mr Kho Chu Ju, the Executive Director of Hock Ju Auto Parts and Mr Chandra Segaran, the Executive Director of Daieshoji Company, jointly bear the costs of importing and purchase of another used fire engine from Japan for their ardent support to our community service.
On June 2000, our Deputy Minister of Housing and Local Government, the honorable Dato’ Peter Chin Fah Kui, made his official visit to our Fire Brigade Department here in Kuala Kedah. Dato’ Peter Chin was the first Senior Minister from the Federal Government to visit our headquarter since its inception and he was impressed with the attainments made by us thus far.
On the 22nd February 2001, the honorable Dato’ Seri Ong Ka Ting, the Minister of Housing and Local Government officiate the opening of our Voluntary Fire Service Building in Kuala Kedah. In conjunction with the event, the Chief Minister of Kedah, the honorable Dato’ Seri Haji Syed Razak also attended to give his blessings. The honorable Dato’ Beh Heng Seong, the State Exco member, cum Chairmain of Chinese Community Affair, have borned the total expenditures of the ceremony, amounting to 30 000 Malaysian Ringgit..
We would like to take this opportunity to express our gratification and appreciation to the Kedah State Fire & Rescue Department. It is the cordial relationship between us that make transfer of know-hows, sharing of experiences and dissemination of knowledge and improvement in service quality are made possible. With the commitment of the Kedah State Fire & Rescue Department in the movement of voluntary fire service, we will be able to upgrade the professionalism of performance and be in pace with the developments in fire fighting techniques practice elsewhere in the world.
Our dearest guests of honour, for your information, The Kuala Kedah Voluntary Fire Service has her own Doctrine for customers and has her own set of Total Quality Management Guidelines that serve as the guiding lights for each and every members in deploying the resources effectively and can operate smoothly with high consistency in the quality of service rendered.
On top of that, to prospect for new recruits from time to time is of utmost importance. This is to ensure no disruption in the voluntary fire service and a perpetual pool of new and fresh blood readily to take over the tasks.
Besides the above factors, the total commitment from the management, members of the unit is also needed. They should be constantly motivated from time to time so that they are geared up to an appropriate level or standard. Correct attitudes and mindsets such as sincerity, trustworthy, loyalty, endurance and with high degree of tolerance and self-discipline should prevail once total commitment is the norm. these are our doctrines and our recipes of success for The Voluntary Fire Service of Kuala Kedah.
With the spirit to serve our country on a voluntary basis, our code of conducts prohibits the members of this voluntary unit to receive any payment or emolument for their services. With this attitude of service above self, we gain high remarks and strong support from the public and society at large. With these guidelines, the managing committee is able to potray the potential of these younger generations that are truly willing to contribute and sacrifice for the well-being of our country.
Usually, the members of this voluntary unit frequently hold post-mortem meeting in order to analyse and identify inherent weaknesses in every aspects of our operations.
Steps are being taken constantly to overcome problems and measures taken to improve the qualities of our service. Such self-examining meetings are held every fortnightly. With this awareness, it is hope that the recurrence of past mistakes will be minimised if not avoided at all.
Check-lists were devised by ourself to ensure the adequacy of fire fighting equipments, periodic inspection of fire engines are well-documented. We also make sure that the equipments are adequate and readily deployable, but also are being kept in orderly manner and are easily accessible. This will ensure an optimal use of every equipment in our arsenal.
The Managing Committee also constantly having dialogues and discussions with the fellow members of the voluntary fire service to identify the needs, demands and problems of each other. Through frank and cordial dialogue, many problems can be resolved before it become a crisis that is growing out of scale and dimension that might jeopardize the harmony and reputation of our unit.
The fellow members of Kuala Kedah Voluntary Fire Service are also actively participate in the field work and inter-visit trips among other voluntary units to exchange ideas, insights and experiences. Members are also encouraged to participate in contests related to fire service in order to boost their morale and the image of our unit as a whole.
Before I excuse myself, I would like to apologize to our guests of honour, the Senior Officer of New South Wales Rural Fire Service and his entourage if our ways to receive our guests do not measure up to the usual expectation. I would like to bring to your attention that it is largely due to a communication barrier does exists among us as we use different languages and we hardly understand each others language. I believe the same scenario also happens during your visit to other parts of the world. For your information, the committee and our members come from all walks of life and they hardly use or utter a single word of English in their daily life. Nevertherless, the members of our voluntary unit are excited with glee and their hospitality can be felt easily. I believe, our Government Officers from the Kedah State Fire & Rescue Department can help us and offered themselves as interpreter during the interaction session afterwards.
We strongly believe with our relentless quest for excellence and the strong support from the community, together with an equally strong and committed involvement from The Kedah State Fire & Rescue Service Department, I have confidence that we as a team, will show excellent performance in the fire service and certainly will vow to scale new high.
