Ex-Rajang 2026 Exercise to strengthen agencies’ preparedness for security threats

SIBU (Sept 23): The Ex-Rajang 2026 Exercise is aimed at ramping up the preparedness of government agencies and installation owners in responding to potential security threats and incidents.

Sarawak National Security Council (MKN) State Security Director Mohammad Hafizzie Putit said such exercises were significant to ensure all parties remained prepared to respond to any threat or incident that could occur at any time.

“Everyone here has one common objective, which is to test our level of preparedness,” he said at the opening of the Ex-Rajang 2026 Exercise at the Rajang Port Authority (RPA) Sibu headquarters here on Tuesday.

He said installation owners also had a responsibility to continuously strengthen their preparedness and review their response plans to ensure they remained relevant to current circumstances.

According to him, MKN had been entrusted with conducting such exercises and, based on available resources, several exercises were planned annually with installation owners including Petronas and Sarawak Energy Berhad.

Mohammad Hafizzie also expressed appreciation to the RPA for its cooperation, noting that discussions on the exercise had begun in 2024.

He said the exercise planned for last year had to be cancelled at the last minute due to the major flooding in Sibu.

“We are thankful that we can finally realise what we had planned together with the Rajang Port Authority,” he said.

Mohammad Hafizzie said the exercise also provided an opportunity to boost agencies’ preparedness under realistic conditions, particularly their response time, as distance could affect how quickly assistance reached an incident location.

He cited Bintulu as an example, where the presence of several critical targets meant response time would be an important consideration in the event of an incident, including a terrorist threat.

He added that effective communication during a crisis was another key factor in ensuring coordinated action when dealing with disasters or security incidents.

The exercise involves two components; a Tabletop Exercise (TTX) and Field Training Exercise (FTX).

Mohammad Hafizzie said the TTX, conducted in a seminar room, would test participants’ understanding and decision-making through discussions and simulated injects, while the FTX would assess coordination and response based on scenarios discussed during the TTX.

He urged participants from the various departments and agencies to use the exercise to strengthen their skills and improve the preparedness of their respective organisations.

“Large-scale exercises involving hundreds of participants require a high level of commitment, particularly from installation owners in terms of expenditure and implementation costs,” he said.

He noted that this year’s Ex-Rajang exercise would intensify three security directives; National Disaster Management Agency (NADMA) Directive No. 1, MKN Directive No. 18 on terrorism and MKN Directive No. 21; through a series of scenarios prepared for the exercise.

Also present was RPA Sibu representative manager Fakri Fadulillah Sulaiman.