Source: Allianz, 23 January 2020
Allianz Malaysia Berhad is investing its efforts towards building resilient communities with the funding of the research and development for the Capsule Relief Guard prototype.
The amphibious relief capsule is the brainchild of long time emergency and disaster responder and Malaysia International Search and Rescue (MISAR) chairman and founder Captain K. Balasupramaniam.
The relief capsule is fitted with 3 wheels and can easily transition between land and water. It is able to aid 120 persons and comes equipped with three mobile toilets, 30 tents as well as a complete hygiene kit. Besides that, the capsule is also fitted with a built-in solar-powered digital communication tool with internet connection.
“One of five core corporate responsibility pillars of Allianz Malaysia is disaster risk reduction. So, when the idea for the prototype capsule came about, we felt it was a great initiative and an important one for us to support towards enhancing disaster relief efforts in the country. Besides that, MISAR is all about saving beyond the limit, and this project embodies that to a T,” said Zakri Khir, Chief Executive Officer of Allianz Malaysia Berhad who attended the launch and demonstration of the survival capsule at the MISAR Academy at Jalan Kampung Pandan last November.
MISAR serves the nation in search and rescue missions and humanitarian field. The organisation has been a keen collaborator of Allianz Malaysia, working with the Company’s corporate responsibility arm, Allianz4Good, to support and lead various disaster risk reduction initiatives and relief efforts over the past years.
“From the demonstration, we learned that the relief camp takes less than 30 minutes to setup which is very impressive considering the whole camp can shelter 120 people for nothing less than 2 weeks. Captain Bala and his team have done a great job in turning the idea into such a promising invention. We hope this can plant a seed of hope in improving disaster relief management in the country,” added Zakri.
In recent years, Malaysia’s annual monsoon season has given rise to flash floods in major states across the country. The nation’s worst flooding incident occurred between December 2014 and January 2015 which forced more than 200,000 people out of their homes. According to the National Disaster Management Agency (NADMA), more than 55,000 people were affected by disaster last year.
Allianz Malaysia has reached out to more than 5,400 beneficiaries in 2019 alone. Since 2015, the company has actively carried out various initiatives include raising awareness on protection, flood preparedness and basic survival skills knowledge; fitting of solar power generation system and water filtration systems for schools that act as evacuation centres as well as reaching out to customers affected by disasters through the Allianz Claims Caravan initiative.
