TANJUNG MALIM, Aug 21 — The Malaysian Civil Defence Department (JPAM) will be officially renamed the Malaysian Civil Defence Force (APM), effective Sept 1.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Dr Shahidan Kassim said the document on the matter had been submitted to Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Abdul Halim Mu’adzam Shah for consent after it was debated and passed in Parliament.

“InsyaAllah (God willing), come Sept 1, it will be gazetted as the Malaysian Civil Defence Force, or APM in short,” he told reporters after attending the 7th National Assembly and Commissioning of the Civil Defence Corp (Sispa Corp) Cadets at Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris’ (UPSI) Sultan Azlan Shah Campus here today.

A total of 895 Sispa Corp cadets from 12 public universities and six private universities were commissioned during the ceremony.

Advertisement

Shahidan said the rebranding move was in line with the tasks and roles played by the agency, which now has over one million volunteers nationwide.

“As its membership has grown to over one million volunteers, it is not apt to call it a department anymore,” he said.

Although the allowance for volunteers remained unchanged following the change in the name of the agency, Shahidan said efforts were being done to ensure that APM volunteers would get the same allowance as paid by other voluntary bodies in the country. — Bernama

Advertisement