Malaysia legislation
Section 2
Section 2
Interpretation
“auxiliary member” means any person appointed by the Chief
Commissioner under subsection 4h(1);
“Chief Commissioner” means the Chief Commissioner for the
Force appointed under subsection 4(1);
“civil defence” includes any measures not amounting to actual combat for affording defences against any form of hostile attack or for depriving any form of hostile attack of the whole or part of its effect, whether the measures are taken before, at or after the time of the attack;
“civil defence services” means any service rendered or task undertaken by the Force in connection with civil defence functions;
Act 221
“disaster” means a catastrophe, mishap or grave occurrence in any area, arising from natural, or man-made causes whether or not attributable to an attack by an enemy or to any warlike act, or by accident or negligence, which results in substantial loss of life or human suffering, or damage to, or destruction of, property, or damage to, or degradation of, environment or that in any way endangers the safety of the public;
“disaster management”, in relation to civil defence, means a continuous and integrated process of planning, organizing, coordinating and implementing measures which are necessary or expedient for—
(a)
prevention of danger or threat of any disaster;
(b)
mitigation or reduction of risk of any disaster or its severity or consequences;
(c)
capacity building;
(d)
preparedness to deal with any disaster;
(e)
prompt response to any threatening disaster situation or disaster;
(f)
evacuation, rescue and relief; and
(g)
rehabilitation and reconstruction;
“employer” means any employer who is within the definition of “employer” in the Employment Act 1955 [Act 265], Labour
Ordinance [Sabah Cap. 67], Labour Ordinance [Sarawak Cap. 76]
or Industrial Relations Act 1967 [Act 177];
“Force” means the Malaysia Civil Defence Force established under section 2a;
“Minister” means the Minister charged with the responsibility for civil defence;
“regular member” means any person employed on a full-time service in the Force;
“volunteer member” means any person enrolled in the Force under section 4g.
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Establishment of Malaysia Civil Defence Force 2a. The Malaysia Civil Defence Force is established which shall consist of regular members, volunteer members and auxiliary members.
Functions of the Force 2b. The functions of the Force are to carry out civil defence duties as follows:
(a)
to carry out disaster management;
(b)
to perform humanitarian services;
(c)
to instruct the civilian population regarding civil defence and to equip them for the purposes of such defence;
(d)
to train the following persons for civil defence purposes:
(i)
civil defence forces;
(ii)
police force;
(iii)
fire officer; and
(iv)
employees of statutory and other bodies, whether corporate or unincorporate, employed primarily for purposes other than for civil defence purposes;
(e)
to requisition, purchase and hire land, buildings, materials, property and goods required for civil defence purposes;
(f)
to provide advice to the Minister on matters relating to civil defence;
(g)
to identify hazards and risks that the Chief Commissioner considers are of national significance;
(h)
to train and equip the civilian population to cope and assist with any civil defence purposes;
(i)
to inform and advise the civilian population relating to civil defence;
Act 221
(j)
to rescue and to transfer endangered persons to areas of safety;
(k)
to set up emergency and first-aid posts and provide first-aid to casualties and to transfer the casualties to hospitals or areas of safety;
(l)
to assist relevant public authorities and other agencies to provide for the relief of distress and for welfare generally, including the accommodation of the homeless and the conserving and supplying of food, fuel, clothing, first-aid and medical supplies and other necessities;
(m)
to assist relevant public authorities to undertake measures for the disposal of the dead in the event of emergency;
(n)
to assist relevant public authorities to carry out clean-up works, clear streets, roads and other public places and remove and dispose of dangerous structures and materials;
(o)
to assist relevant public authorities to carry out repairs to essential utilities and government buildings in the event of emergency;
(p)
to control and coordinate lighting and the distribution of clean water and other essential supplies;
(q)
to provide, maintain, control and operate prescribed public warning devices;
(r)
to manage all shelters including air-raid shelters and temporary shelters in the event of emergency;
(s)
to provide and maintain emergency ambulance service;
(t)
to take lawful measures in order to protect life and property in case of fire by providing auxiliary fire service; and
(u)
to execute such other duties as may be imposed on it by this Act or any other written law.
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Overlapping of functions 2c. (1) Where there is any overlapping of functions relating to handling of disaster between the Force and any agency or authority, such overlapping of functions shall be resolved and dealt with administratively.
(2)
For the purpose of this section, “any agency or authority”
includes the police force and fire officer.
Minister may make rules for civil defence