KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 15 — The Fire and Rescue Department (JBPM) has conducted 1,172 inspections of childcare centres nationwide as of October, with 373 notices issued to premises that failed to comply with safety regulations.

Deputy Minister of Housing and Local Government Datuk Aiman Athirah Sabu said that for private primary and secondary educational institutions, 234 inspections were carried out during the same period with 41 notices issued.

“The ministry, through JBPM, will implement enforcement through activities to eliminate fire hazards on premises, on a scheduled basis.

“This is to ensure that the premises always comply with the conditions set and do not make any modifications to the premises that were approved for the original plan,” she said during a question and answer session at Dewan Negara today.

She was responding to a question from Senator Prof Emeritus Datuk Dr Mohammad Redzuan Othman regarding steps to ensure that daycare centres and private primary and secondary education institutions for children, which often operate in business complexes and shophouses, comply with the safety regulations.

According to Aiman Athirah, the ministry strongly supports the involvement of various stakeholders in driving the development of the private education sector through efforts to simplify the process of approving business premises licenses, without neglecting the safety aspects and compliance with applicable laws.

She said among the safety requirements that must be complied with are the installation of a fire safety system, the provision of at least two exits including doors and exit stairs, the construction of separation walls, the placement of fire extinguishers in easily visible exits, limits on cooking activities and the installation of self-contained smoke detectors.

“In 2024, a total of 1,208 business premises licenses were approved by all local authorities (PBT). During that period, 723 monitoring and enforcement operations for compliance with the conditions of the premises license approval were carried out by PBT, with 61 compounds and eight notices issued to license owners.

“Meanwhile, in 2025, a total of 1,737 licenses were approved with 472 monitoring and enforcement operations carried out which led to the issuance of 96 compounds and 23 notices,” she said. — Bernama