PUTRAJAYA, Oct 2 — December 11, 1993 marked one of the darkest moments in the nation’s disaster history when Block 1 of the Highland Towers Condominium in Ulu Klang, Selangor collapsed, claiming 48 lives.

The tragedy highlighted the need for a specialised search and rescue team capable of responding to large-scale disasters, leading to the establishment of the Special Malaysia Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team (SMART) on August 1, 1995.

More than three decades later, SMART has evolved into a Heavy Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) team that meets the standards of the International Search and Rescue Advisory Group (INSARAG) under the United Nations (UN).

SMART obtained Heavy USAR recognition through the INSARAG External Classification (IEC) in 2016 and recently successfully defended the recognition through the INSARAG External Reclassification (IER), with excellent results.

While the 2016 assessment involved about 130 checklists, the assessment on Sept 22 covered 173 elements across five main components: management, search, rescue, logistics and medical.

SMART Logistics Section head and INSARAG assessor Safrizan Suhaini, 45, said becoming an assessor required more than experience in a rescue team, as candidates must attend courses set by the UN, undergo the Classifier in Training process and have operational field experience.

Safrizan, who has been with SMART for 14 years, has participated in eight classification processes, including six as an assessor and two as a deputy head assessor, in countries including Japan, Oman, Hong Kong, New Zealand, France and Russia.

He said the experience provided opportunities for SMART to learn from international teams’ best practices and bring them back to be adapted to strengthen the national team.

“If we are not given the opportunity to go abroad and observe how others operate, we might feel we are the best. When we step out, we realise there are actually improvements that can be made within our team,” he told Bernama recently.

The knowledge-sharing process is now two-way, with seven of SMART’s practices identified as best practices by 11 international assessors during the latest assessment, including in medical care, logistics management and operations.

Safrizan said these practices would be brought to the UN level and shared through the USAR network for adaptation by teams in other countries.

“They do not only look at our shortcomings, but they also take away the positive aspects. This enhances our capacity and capability so that we are always improving,” he said.

Meanwhile, SMART training officer PgKB II Mohamad Hafiezul Abdul Halim said defending the status through the IER was more challenging as the assessment was based not only on exercises but also on the team’s track record over the previous two years, including operations, training, equipment and medical aspects.

He said the INSARAG methodology was also reassessed every five years based on current developments and needs, requiring the team to continuously enhance its capabilities.

Mohamad Hafiezul, who has served as an INSARAG assessor in China and France, said discipline and multitasking skills were among SMART’s strengths, with members trained to assist other components when required.

He added that technology, such as high-capacity drones equipped with thermal imaging, was also becoming increasingly important in accelerating the search for victims.

“If we cannot find the victims, how can we rescue them? Once we can determine the victims’ locations, we can then proceed to rescue them,” he said.

For a team born out of the Highland Towers tragedy, SMART’s success today goes beyond defending its international status, reflecting the evolution of Malaysia’s SAR capabilities.

More than three decades later, Malaysia is no longer merely learning from how the world conducts SAR operations. Through SMART, the country’s experiences and practices now have the potential to be shared with the global rescue community. — Bernama