5 Times A Fire Broke Out At Government Buildings And Police Stations In Malaysia
The Ministry of Finance (MOF) headquarters and the Bukit Aman police headquarters were some of the buildings that caught on fire in recent years.
By Yap Wan Xiang — 08 Dec 2022, 09:44 AM
1. Ministry of Finance (MOF) headquarters
On Tuesday, 6 December, a fire broke out at the Ministry of Finance in Putrajaya at 2.30pm.
Putrajaya police district chief ACP A Asmadi Abdul Aziz said that the fire might have been caused by sparks from renovation works that had set a pile of papers aflame at the dump site.
On social media, many netizens lamented that government buildings on fire were such an 'old trick'.
A handful of them also connected the fire to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's warning to former premier Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, which was made in the morning just hours before the fire broke out at MOF.
Anwar alleged that Muhyiddin's administration spent RM600 billion that did not follow proper procedures.
2. Sarawak state government administrative headquarters
On 26 May, Wisma Bapa Malaysia, also known as Bangunan Tunku Abdul Rahman, caught fire.
The building is the Sarawak government administrative headquarters, which houses various government departments, including the premier's office, the state secretary's office, and the state attorney general's chambers, among others.
According to Dayak Daily, there is server room on the third floor of the building.
The Borneo Post reported that a switch box in the server room suddenly caught fire around 7pm.
The Sarawak government's online systems and services were disrupted after the fire, reported Bernama.
3. Sentul district police headquarters
On 26 April, an explosion was reported at the evidence storage facility in the Sentul district police headquarters, setting 50 vehicles ablaze.
According to Free Malaysia Today, the blast resulted in three men suffering minor injuries.
It was understood that the fire started in the evidence storage and burned 30% of the building's structure and 80% of an open area where the vehicles were parked.
The Star reported that the police station had previously obtained a court order to destroy over RM4.17 million worth of fireworks.
A total of 1,059 boxes and 35 sacks of fireworks and firecrackers were seized in March when the police successfully crippled a syndicate. Five men were arrested as a result of the operation.
4. Employees Provident Fund (EPF) building on Jalan Gasing
On 12 February 2018, a fire destroyed 40% of the EPF building on Jalan Gasing in Petaling Jaya.
The expressway in front of the building, the Federal Highway, was congested as a result.
No injuries were reported as all 527 employees and their clients made it out of the building safely, according to New Straits Times.
A total of 70 firefighters and officers worked together to put out the fire in 30 minutes.
The incident shed light on the dangers of using polyethylene as cladding, which the EPF building was covered with.
It was revealed that a spark from renovation work caused the fire.
5. Bukit Aman police headquarters
On 29 July 2015, flames engulfed the Bukit Aman police headquarters.
At the time, it was reported that the blaze was believed to have originated on levels 9 and 10, which is where the Criminal Investigation and Narcotics departments are located.
It was reported that the blaze originated in the corridor on level 10 of Menara 2, where the criminal investigation department is located. The smoke from the fire went down to the narcotics department on level 9.
No casualties were reported.
Following the incident, rumours circulated that evidence related to the 1MDB scandal had been destroyed at the police station.
However, then-Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar said, "There is no cause for alarm, as only unimportant documents were lost during the fire."
