During 17 – 19 January 2020, MJIIT delegation consisting of Prof. Dr. Ali Selamat, Dean of MJIIT, Dr. Muhamad Ali bin Mohd Yuzir, Dr. Abd Halim Bin Md Ali and Dr. Shohei Matsuura, JICA Expert attended the 3rd Japan-ASEAN Science, Technology and Innovation Platform (JASTIP) and the ASEAN Committee on Science, Technology and Innovation.

Hosted by the Ministry of Science and Technology of Vietnam, the meeting reviewed the accomplishments seen during the first phase (2015-2019) of JASTIP in all sectors (Energy & Environment, Bioresources & Biodiversity and Disaster Prevention) and discussed on the visions for proposing ideas for Phase 2.

MJIIT is the home of the MJIIT-Kyoto University JASTIP Disaster Prevention Joint Lab on UTM’s Kuala Lumpur Campus and has been central in both educational and research activities in the Disaster Prevention sector of JASTIP.

The members of the Disaster Prevention sector agreed that Phase 2 will have the following concepts and themes:

1. Common issues in ASEAN countries (e.g. flood, landslide, typhoon, high tide, tsunami, haze, dam safety, reservoir sustainability, coastal erosion)
   – Mekong River (Flow and Sediment Regime Change) in Lao PDR, Cambodia and Vietnam
   – Coastal Flooding (Tsunami and High Tide) in Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Myanmar and Vietnam
2. Transboundary issues (international river flood and sediment, haze, tsunami)
   – River Basin Management (Flood, Water Resources and Sediment) in the Philippines and Vietnam
   – Cultural Heritage & DRR (Flood and Sediment) in Malaysia, Vietnam and Indonesia

JASTIP partners also agreed to continue to support MJIIT as a regional DRR hub in education/training, research and field practice for sustainable development the ASEAN region.

On 3 December, members of DPPC made a courtesy call to YAS Dato‘ Mohamad Hamdan bin Hj. Wahid, Director General of Fire and Rescue Department (BOMBA) Malaysia. From DPPC, Dr. Khamarrul Azahari Razak, Dr. Shohei Matsuura and Dr. Abd Halim Bin Md Al and Mr. Zainuddin Bin Mat Daud, current MDRM student and BOMBA officer, were present at the meeting.

The discussion with the Director General and its management ranged from recent the collaboration with their Training Division in our MDRM program (MMJD1143 program at Akademi Bomba dan Penyelamat Malaysia Kuala Kubu Bharu) and future plans for collaborating in DPPC’s three pillars: Education/Training, Research and Field Activities. The BOMBA management did not only express their keen interest to take advantage of the scientific and technological knowledge of MJIIT/UTM, but also engagements with JICA and JUC partners of MJIIT.

While BOMBA is now in planning for their Rolling Plan 4 (2020-) and DPPC will be celebrating its 5th Year Establishment in 2020, the meeting was timely for both sides to start a long-term collaboration that would benefit and compliment each of our strength and goals. It was agreed by both sides that a MoU will be exchanged in the new future and a series of certified short courses and workshops be jointly implemented in 2020.

The courtesy call ended with a visit to their central command center.

During 14-15 November, series of coordination meeting, workshop and field visits related to Integrated Flood Hazard Map and Water-related Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DRRM) was organized by MJIIT’s Disaster Program (DPPC), Penang Island City Council (MBPP) and Department of Irrigation & Drainage (DID). This program was implemented as part of MMJD1133 Control Measures and Mitigation Planning (https://mjiit.utm.my/dppc/2019/11/21/control-measures-and-mitigation-planning-2/) course of the MDRM Program.

Hosted by Mayor Yew Tung Seang and City Secretary Addnan Mohd Razali, chaired by Dato’ Ir. Sabri bin Abdul Mulok, Deputy Director General (Specialist Sector) of DID, key DRRM stakeholders in Penang gathered to discuss the way forward to cope better with increasing and unprecedented natural hazards experienced in recent years.

Three presentations were given by UTM on “Integrated Flood Hazard Map for Water Related Disaster in Strengthening Urban Resilience in Georgetown, Penang” by Ms. Haslinda Mohamad Hamran, DID officer and MDRM student, “Mainstreaming Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) into Development Planning & Investment” by Dr. Khamarrul Azahari Razak, Senior Lecturer and DPPC member, UTM and “Hazard Risk Maps and Issues in Risk Communication: Experiences from Japan” by Dr. Shohei Matsuura, JICA Expert. These presentations were followed by a presentation on “Flood and Landslide Management in Penang” by MBPP’s technical officer.

The coordination meeting was followed by site visits related to flood control such as MBPP CCTV Control Centre, Pinang River Information Center and inundation area in Pinang River and coastal flood control pond (S18). During the visit, some of the technical background information was provided by Dr. Faizah Che Ros, Senior Lecturer and DPPC fellow.

On the second day, a workshop that invited over 60 participants from the local governmental departments was held to implement the Climate and Disaster Resilience Initiative (CDRI). The CDRI exercise was facilitated by the MDRM students with intensions to get them exposed to working with various DRRM stakeholders. The results from CDRI will be compiled, analyzed and presented to the workshop participants to further discuss the way forward to further strengthen the coping mechanisms of the local government and communities towards future flood disasters.