Auxiliary firemen yearn to be absorbed into service

(From left) Auxiliary firefighters Muhammad Nazrul, Razzaaq and Muhammad Haziq with their commendation letters during the awards presentation event in Johor Baru. — THOMAS YONG/The Star

CATCHING animals − especially snakes − has become a norm for auxiliary firefighter Muhammad Haziq Noradzarrudin, as the fire station in Batu Pahat, Johor, responds to at least a dozen such cases each week.

The 21-year-old said that pythons and cobras were top on their list of “catches”, besides monitor lizards, musang (civet cat) and dogs.

Muhammad Haziq, who has been based at the station for the past three years, said that most of these animals strayed into residential homes, especially after rain.

“One of the tense moments I faced was when we were called to catch a cobra that had slithered into a kitchen in Tanjung Laboh. The snake was about 3.5m long and it could stand up to 2m on its tail.

“At one point, it spat venom at my senior but he managed to avoid it. The snake was aggressive but after some attempts, my colleague managed to trap it,” he said.

Most of the time, the animals caught would be released in places away from the population centres or handed over to the Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan), he added.

Muhammad Haziq was among 19 auxiliary firefighters from Johor who were presented commendation letters from the department’s director-general Datuk Nor Hisham Mohammad during an awards presentation in Johor Baru.

Though happy with the commendation, Muhammad Haziq hoped that the government would review the allowances paid to auxiliary firefighters and set a five-year limit for those with good service and discipline to be absorbed as full-time firefighter.

“At the moment, I only get RM8 an hour for 12 hours, for 20 days a month. That comes up to RM96 per day or RM1,920 per month.

“There are no EPF or Sosco benefits,” he said, adding that things would be better if they were absorbed into the service.

Another recipient Muhammad Nazrul Shah Md Isa, 32, who has been an auxiliary firefighter for the past 10 years, agreed.

“Since becoming an auxiliary firefighter, I have applied for a full-time position twice but have not been successful,” he said.

Muhammad Nazrul, who is based at the Kulai fire station, said that an auxiliary firefighter’s role was similar to that of a full-time firefighter.

“Besides the RM96 per day, we receive a yearly clothing allowance of RM125 and also an annual bonus for reporting for duty of between RM200 to RM500.

“We attend to fires, accidents and rescue operations,” he said, adding that he did odd-jobs to earn a living when not on duty.

Another recipient Razzaaq Mohd Yusoff, 26, who drives private ambulances on his days off, said that he joined as an auxiliary firefighter five years ago.

“I enjoy the job but I hope that the government will look into our plight and absorb us into regular service,” he said, adding that he had been with the Kulai fire station for five years.

Razzaaq also hoped that the allowance would be revised to RM10 per hour.

All three auxiliary firefighters said they were committed to their work and enjoyed doing their part in helping the community.