{"id":20183,"date":"2023-02-25T01:17:00","date_gmt":"2023-02-24T17:17:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rakansarawak.com\/v3\/?p=20183"},"modified":"2023-02-24T18:24:21","modified_gmt":"2023-02-24T10:24:21","slug":"empowering-communities-to-become-first-responders","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rakansarawak.com\/v3\/2023\/02\/25\/empowering-communities-to-become-first-responders\/","title":{"rendered":"Empowering Communities to Become First Responders<\/strong>"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

– extracted and adapted from RAKAN Sarawak<\/strong><\/em> Jan-March 2020 –<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Sarawak \u2013 a programme coordinated by the State Security and Enforcement Unit (UKPN) under the Chief Minister\u2019s Office \u2013 has been preparing communities to become first responders during disasters and emergencies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since it was introduced in 2010, more than 10,000 people from 2,255 villages across Sarawak have joined the programme, and as a result 53 CERTS have been created (as of February 2020).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a sub-group of the State Crisis Management Committee, CERT Sarawak consists of representatives from the government, local leaders and communities.<\/p>\n\n\n

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It is a collaborative effort in ensuring enhanced readiness and systematic responses among these three parties in the face of unexpected incidents such as flood and fire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CERT members are trained to respond to these incidents through courses by UKPN in collaboration with relevant agencies and organisations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They are Royal Malaysia Police, Fire and Rescue Department of Malaysia, Sarawak Health Department, Malaysia Civil Defence Force, Sarawak Social Welfare Department, Resident and District Offices, Sarawak Energy Berhad and PETRONAS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through their training, they will have the capability to, among others, perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), provide basic medical assistance, extinguish small fires, manage equipment efficiently, and finding and rescuing victims.<\/p>\n\n\n

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CERT members are trained in various courses such as cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

CERT also gives communities the opportunity to embrace the spirit of volunteerism, as the programme encourages members to show willingness to help one another, emphasising on security and rescue with comprehensive engagement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The programme is especially prominent in rural areas, where government authorities sometimes are unable to provide immediate assistance to incidents such as flood and fire as they would find themselves confronted by Sarawak\u2019s geography and remoteness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Having CERTs in these areas will then enable rural communities to mitigate the effects due to disasters and emergencies, as well as save lives before the authorities arrive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the Sarawak Government\u2019s point-of-view, CERT is deemed a positive and realistic approach in handling emergency and disaster situations, with the people being empowered to take immediate action to lend victims a hand at critical times.<\/p>\n\n\n

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CERT is established to support emergency responders like the Malaysia Civil Defence Force (APM)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
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