Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob announced that a National Risk Register (NRR) is to be launched soon and a policy is also being drafted to better prepare the country to face disasters so as to protect Malaysians.

The NRR is to create greater awareness and a better understanding of disaster risks including putting in place initiatives to reduce risks, enhance human capacity and expand mitigation measures and the use of technology.

The NRR is an initiative by the National Disaster Management Agency to educate the public about disasters in Malaysia and the risks they pose. It is scheduled to be launched by the prime minister on Oct. 28 this year.

Datuk Ismail Sabri said the plan is to expand strategies, actions and programs in the NRR to all sectors such as development, economy, education and health.

He added that these initiatives were in line with global instruments such as the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction and the Paris Agreement on climate change to achieve Sustainable Development Goals aspirations.

Datuk Ismail Sabri noted that the World Disasters Report 2020 was of concern as there were about 100 disasters around the world in the first six months of the Covid-19 pandemic. Of this 99 percent of the disasters were the result of extreme weather which affected more than 50 million people.

-THE MALAYSIA VOICE