Oh, Emergency!

Today, on my way back from work I came across an accident that happened in front of me. Two ladies on a motorcycle collided with a car. One of them fell on her back laying the ground, conscious but was unable to move while the other one managed to get up on her own. An emergency call was made by one of us (random drivers) that came to help. Since the accident happened at a roundabout, the traffic was quite a heavy one. So for my own peace of mind, I waited with them for help to come.

I was expecting a typical hospital ambulance to come with flashy siren like what usually saw in TV (how naive I am). But it was not. It was a red ambulance escorted by a police patrol car. Mind you, I have always had smooth sailing ride in life and rarely encountered such emergency incident (alhamdulillah.. and not that I am asking for it). Anyway, I think it was less than 15 minutes of waiting for them to arrive.

Since it was not the 'usual' ambulance I expected, being a curious cat I am, I observed. The ambulance attendees wore those uniforms that looked like military clothing but different. They're actually Emergency Medical Rescue Services EMRS Bomba. I know now, that our Bomba has such rescue team. How ignorant I was.

So this got me into thinking. I wonder how this emergency response calls work. I wonder what happened when we call 999. Earlier this year, there was a widespread belief that instead of 999, the number 112 is the country’s most efficient emergency number to use as it connects mobile phone users directly to the police even without network coverage. According to what I read here and here, this was not true.

I know now that 112 is actually the standard emergency number globally. If we dial 112 in a foreign country, our call will automatically be mapped to the designated emergency number of that particular country. And in Malaysia, an agency is appointed to take all 112 calls from mobile phones and re-route it to our designated emergency number – 999.

So here in Malaysia, the MERS 999 is the Government’s initiative to consolidate the emergency numbers in Malaysia into a single number for public convenience – 999. The number covers all types of emergencies involving five emergency service providers – the police, Fire and Rescue Department, Health Ministry, Civil Defence Department and Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency. 

So, be it 112 or 999 – either one of it will get us to the response centres.

There, I know now.