Major (Rtd) Murali Bhaskaran said Malaysia currently practised a “firefighting” system, where action was only taken after a tragedy had occurred.
“This is wrong. Only when something happens do we realise that it’s already too late,” he told FMT.
Murali, who is principal consultant of Global SAR Resources Sdn Bhd, observed that the SAR system in Malaysia was segregated and different agencies took action when disasters occurred, on land, in the air or at sea.
“If something were to happen to a plane, an aviation agency will be in charge of the SAR. Similarly, if something were to hit a ship, the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency will be in charge.
“It is good to have a secured centre where the resources, manpower, equipment and facilities are all in one place.
“Countries such as the United States and Canada have a Joint Rescue Coordination Centre where aviation, maritime and land forces work together. Even Indonesia is doing that. We should, too,” said Murali.
He observed that with the current segregation of SAR efforts, Malaysia was not quite ready to handle a mass rescue effort, should any tragedy occur that involved more than 500 people.
Modern aircraft easily carried more than 150 passengers, and planes such as the Airbus 380 had the capacity to fly 555 passengers at any one time.
“The worst disaster Malaysia has seen was the floods in Kelantan and Pahang, but, what if a large plane goes down somewhere on our soil? Are we capable of rescuing 555 passengers?
“Can the land forces do a mass rescue? Are our hospitals ready? Do we have enough helicopters?” Murali asked.
He also lamented that tragedies occurring in the country had the tendency to become an international concern, especially when Malaysia did not have sophisticated assets for SAR efforts.
“It is okay for the government to say SAR is not a priority, like 20 years ago, but now every plane landing at KLIA carries hundreds of passengers at one time — the demand (for SAR) is more now.
“Cathay Pacific, Thai Airways … these are some airlines that go through KLIA on a daily basis. If we do not have a sophisticated SAR system, people will turn to other countries as their central hub. British Airways, for example, does not land at KLIA. It only lands in Singapore.”
Murali, a former officer of the Royal Malaysian Air Force, also served at the SAR staff office at the defence ministry. He will be attending a three-day international SAR conference and exhibition from Tuesday.
He said among the speakers were Bruce Reid, of the International Maritime Rescue Federation and Captain Robert Teh of Malaysia’s Maritime Enforcement Agency.