KUALA LUMPUR: A video clip showing a motorcycle engulfed in flames at a Customs, Immigration, and Quarantine Complex in Johor has gone viral on social media, sparking debate over the emergency response and protocols at the premises.
The 18-second-long clip posted by Facebook user Mohd Fuad on his social media page, which has been shared around 1,200 times and received more than 350 comments, showed the motorcycle on fire near one of the lanes at the CIQ complex.
Among those who left comments in the comment section of the social media post was user Khasidah Abdullah, believed to be the wife of the motorcycle rider.
"We are the owners of that bike. Alhamdulillah, both my husband and I are okay."
She also thanked a man who had helped her husband to put off the fire. She, however, was not satisfied with the slow response from members of the People's Volunteer Corps (Rela).
She hopes that safety standards at CIQ can be improved.
"It started with a small fire. My concern at that time was to quickly extinguish the fire and prevent injuries to the riders who were rushing to work.
"Rela didn't know where the fire extinguisher was. My husband wanted to break open the nearest fire hose, but they didn't allow it because they said it was locked.
"So when a Malaysian passerby stopped to help and told us it was okay to break it, we finally dared to do so," she said."
She claimed that even the firefighters who arrived at the scene questioned the efficiency of the staff and the lack of nearby fire extinguishers.
Other social media users shared their concerns about the lack of fire extinguishers and the slow response from staff at the premises, as claimed by Khasidah Abdullah
"There isn't one fire extinguisher available and no one to help," questioned a user identified as Muhammad
"This is why fire extinguishers is important," wrote another user, Nuzul Azroy Mohamad Yusuf.
Haziq Sham, meanwhile, said the incident served as a lesson on the importance of having proper safety protocols in buildings or complexes.
"If we can control a small fire immediately, it can reduce risks. That's why every building should have a fire extinguisher that anyone can use in an emergency."