| Rokiah Mahmud |

SIXTY-EIGHT government scho-ols and higher learning insti-tutions inspected by the Fire and Rescue Department from 2017 until this year for compliance with the Fire and Safety Order have unfortunately failed the checks.

Legislative Council member Yang Berhormat Siti Rozaime-riyanty binti Dato Seri Laila Jasa Haji Abdul Rahman highlighted this at the 15th Legislative Council (LegCo) meeting yesterday, noting that the findings are particularly concerning as “fire safety is a matter which needs to be taken seriously”.

She shared that during the dialogue session held last year between LegCo members and the Ministry of Education, there was a provision of a budget for asset management and maintenance for government buildings, to ensure that the premises are fire-safe and comply with the Fire and Safety Order.

The LegCo member asked about the percentage of these buildings that have had maintenance works done under this budget.

In response, Minister of Education Yang Berhormat Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Hamzah bin Haji Sulaiman explained that work has been carried out at the aforementioned schools to ensure they are fire-safe.

“However, these maintenance works need to comply with the financial regulation process and the implementation of the [maintenance] projects,” the minister said.

“Therefore the process will take some time and will be carried out within the financial year 2019/2020.”