PUTRAJAYA, April 9 — Malaysia and Brunei will continue to strengthen bilateral cooperation in disaster management, particularly expertise sharing, capacity building and joint training, said Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

Ahmad Zahid who is also the Central Disaster Management Committee (JPBP) chairman, said the effort was implemented through collaboration between the National Disaster Management Agency (Nadma) and Brunei’s National Disaster Management Centre (NDMC), which has been the main platform for coordinating various initiatives since 2022.

He said Malaysia and Brunei also agreed to emphasise the importance of implementing integrated cross-border disaster management exercises regularly as the two countries share a long land border.

“Efforts to develop standard operating procedures for cross-border disaster management are being actively carried out to ensure a coordinated, rapid and effective response in the event of a disaster in the border area,” he said in a statement today.

Earlier, he received a courtesy call from Brunei’s Home Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Setia Awang Ahmaddin Abdul Rahman at Perdana Putra Building, here, in conjunction with his delegation’s working visit from April 8 to 10.

The visit is a manifestation of the close and special friendship between Malaysia and Brunei based on similarities in history, culture, language and close family ties.

According to Ahmad Zahid, he also shared about the establishment of the National Disaster Management Council, as the highest platform to strengthen governance and coordination of disaster management more comprehensively.

“Malaysia has also introduced the National Preparedness Month as a continuous movement to instil a culture of preparedness among the people at all levels in facing any risk and disaster challenges,” he said.

In addition, he also stated that Malaysia, through the Special Malaysia Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team (SMART), is committed to providing full support to Brunei in obtaining international recognition of the INSARAG External Classification (IEC).

The SMART team as mentors will share expertise and technical guidance as well as Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) capability assessment for Brunei rescue teams.

“In addition, we have welcomed the proposal to revive the Search and Rescue Exercise (SAREX) which involves various themes of rescue operations to strengthen the capabilities of both parties’ response agencies.

“I hope that the momentum of this cooperation will continue through the Fifth Bilateral Meeting between Nadma and NDMC scheduled to be held in Langkawi in July 2026,” he said.

The visit also provided an opportunity for the Brunei delegation to inspect the facilities at the Disaster Simulation Centre at SMART Headquarters to explore opportunities for organising joint training at the facility in the future. — Bernama