.jpg "DSP Hamsah Sakor of the Strategic Resources and Technology Unit (Start) says bomb squad members are always learning and training even though Malaysia is a pretty safe place. u00e2u20acu201d Picture by Choo Choy May")
KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 16 — While bombings and gunfires are not part of our daily lives, the Royal Malaysian Police (or PDRM which is the Bahasa Malaysia acronym they are more popularly referred to) are prepared for any and all threats.
In fact PDRM’s Strategic Resources and Technology Unit (Start) weapons officer Deputy Superintendent (DSP) Hamsah Sakor has spent most of his career preparing for just such an eventuality.
Being blown into pieces one day in the line of duty is a very real one for all in the bomb squad but not something they dwell on.
"If you have to go, you go honourably. Doesn't matter if it's in bits and pieces or a whole corpse. You leave your dignity behind! That's all that matters," Hamsah told Malay Mail Online in a recent interview.
Apart from police insurance, members of the bomb squad are ignored by regular insurers, he added.
"There was once this guy from an insurance company who called and asked me what I did for a living. After hearing my reply, he hung up," Hamsah said.
Hamsah, however, is not too worried.
"With insurance or not, the only thing that's assured is death. You got to pack up when the time comes. So me and my team will give it our all till then," he added with a smile.
"I don't worry much because I have colleagues who have my back. But if it happens, then too bad. I die protecting my people," said Mohammad Nazrul Dahlan who joined the bomb squad in 2012.
For Tengku Ahmad Faizal Tengku Ibrahim, his job is his only badge of honour. "I have always loved weapons and bombs. I wanted to join this unit badly and now I'm here," the father of one said.
"So, if I come back home in one piece then I live to see another day but if I don't, then that's fate," he added with a smile.
.jpg)
However, he said that there have not been any deaths in a long time involving any of his squad members owing to technological improvements and stellar training.
"There is nothing to be afraid of. But this job is also not for the faint-hearted," he said.
Mariam Abd Latiff, a mother of two and one of the four female bomb specialists in Kuala Lumpur, said that she was driven by passion to be a part of the country's bomb squad units.
She is fully aware of her job hazards and after mothering two children, she is not planning on slowing down anytime soon.
"It's not that bad actually. At times when there are tough missions, I do feel scared but if things happen, then too bad. It's fated and my life goes off in service," said Mariam who has been a bomb specialist since 2009.
Hamsah himself joined PDRM 37 years ago and has served in Start for the last 27. So how does one become a bomb technician?
It's a tedious process, Hamsah explains.
"Firstly, the course that's conducted before we are certified to enter the weapons unit is the technical basics course.
"For lower ranking policemen who wish to enter the unit, their training would take over a year to complete while officers need to complete a seven-month technical training at our academy in Bakri, Muar," he said adding that the academy is a special institution for technical and bomb diffusing courses, communications, logistics and information technology (IT).
.jpg)
Upon graduation, officers can go straight into a two-level bomb technician course but lower grade policemen need to complete an apprentice course before moving on to complete a three-tier specialist course.
"Thereafter, for bombs, we have two levels, the first one being unexploded explosive ordinance (UXO) which takes two weeks to complete. UXO bombs include mortar bombs, aerial bombs and others in the category.
"This is the first stage and after that, they go into the second stage to IED- Improvised explosive devices used by most terrorists today. The types which are formulated using the latest technology, and to fit or blend into the environment or objects like fans and air conditioners. It can also be fit into bags, parcels. After this level, the trainees will be certified to handle actual explosives," Hamsah said adding that they would also be required to attend enhancement courses from time to time.
So what do these experts do during “low season”?
Training and research mostly. The bomb technicians are required to update themselves on the latest development and happenings.
To help these experts, the federal police headquarters formed a Bomb Data Centre which compiles details on the types of complicated explosives found, channeled from its global counterparts to help the police arm themselves with the skills to diffuse them.
But bomb technicians also do more than that. They act as quarter masters for PDRM’s weapons unit. Making sure equipment is not just sufficient but in working order.
"During low season, they will be in charge of armaments. They will be involved in police programmes, shooting training and quarter master jobs to ensure our stocks are proper, and they must log if there are any damaged weapons," Hamsah said adding that the officers would also be required to hone their bomb detecting robotics handling skills.
The robotics used — a high technology camera and a mobile robot used to detect bombs before experts rush in to defuse the explosives — costs close to US$1.6 million (RM7 million).
The camera used is of military technology grade, while the mobile robot which is capable of lifting itself onto staircases and high altitude places, is able to project two-tonne water pressure with just a 100 millilitre water volume, as a first defense attempt to neutralise explosives.
.jpg)
"The bomb technicians do just more than one job actually. If a shootout breaks out, they would also collect the substance from the firearms used and work with the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to study its properties, and when there are dignitaries and VVIPs visiting, we do flushing with members from the K9 unit. We check their cars and the public areas they go to, to ensure safety," Hamsah said.
PDRM's bomb squad has 1,800 members nationwide with one unit for each state police contingent, except Kuala Lumpur which has two units, owing to its status as the nation's business capital and high population concentration.
"KL is a very important centre. Anything that happens here makes it to international news, so there is more vigilance here," he added.
In June this year, a nightclub in Puchong was bombed and eight people were injured in the incident which Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar labelled as the first successful IS attack in Malaysia.
Fifteen suspects were later detained to facilitate investigations, including two policemen, prompting fears on the seriousness of IS infiltration even among the police.
In July, the British government advised its citizens that there was a “high” threat from terrorism in Malaysia, following the grenade attack at the nightclub.
The “high” status is the highest of four levels of terrorist threat used by the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), defined as a “high level of known terrorist activity.”
Last week, Bukit Aman's Special Branch counter terrorism unit assistant director Datuk Ayob Khan Mydin Pitchay said that that since the first IS-related arrest made in Malaysia in 2013, the number has increased each year, and this year alone, 112 people have been arrested so far, national news agency Bernama reported.
Among those arrested were policemen, military personnel including commandos, high-ranking civil servants, mosque imams, university professors and students, as well as guest relations officers (GROs), he reportedly said.
New unit to tackle biological weapons
.jpg)
The police are now looking to form a new unit to tackle biological weapons.
"Chemical, biology, nuclear, radioactive explosives (CBRNE). This is new and it's going to be formed. CBRNE would highly likely be placed under PDRM or maybe made into a multi-agency team like Smart (Special Malaysia Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team).
"We don't know how exactly it is going to be but for now it is placed under PDRM," he said adding that the unit is important as Malaysia is quite far behind in technologies to tackle biological hazards.
"We don't have much equipment and this is to cover more ground in bomb technology. If we look at history, we are quite outdated in this aspect.
"Bombs these days are quite basic but it is mixed with biological hazards like anthrax," Hamsah added.
