Malaysia Civil Defence Force (APM)

When major floods strike or a building collapses, one of the first teams to arrive with boats, ropes and rescue equipment is often in APM’s orange uniforms. The Malaysia Civil Defence Force (APM) is the nation’s humanitarian relief backbone — present before, during and after a disaster.

What is APM and who runs it?

APM is the security and emergency relief agency under the Prime Minister’s Department. It operates under the Civil Defence Act 1951 (Act 221), which gives it a peacetime and wartime mandate to protect the lives and property of the public.

The agency was once known as the Malaysia Civil Defence Department (JPAM) before being re-gazetted as the Malaysia Civil Defence Force (APM) with effect from 1 September 2016. Its motto is now “Sedia, Pantas, Berintegriti” (Ready, Swift, Integrity).

What are APM’s core roles and functions?

In normal times, APM focuses on disaster management and protecting civilians; in times of conflict, it addresses enemy attacks through unarmed protective measures. Its core functions include:

• Carrying out rescue operations, protective services and humanitarian assistance against enemy threats, disasters and emergencies.
• Delivering emergency response and humanitarian assistance across the country.
• Assessing and disseminating threat information, advice and public warnings regarding enemy action, crises and natural disasters.

Its official objectives are organised around the disaster cycle: reducing risk through training and public warning systems, responding through first-responder teams, and aiding recovery such as clean-up work, reconstruction support and counselling for affected communities.

What special teams does APM have?

For high-risk operations, APM operates the Civil Defence Special Force (PASPA). This force specialises in:

Specialised field	Example operations
Urban search and rescue (USAR)	Collapsed buildings and structures
High-risk and hazardous search and rescue	Dangerous and complex situations
Dive (scuba) rescue	Underwater incidents
Air, jungle and water rescue	Hard-to-reach areas

How are APM’s volunteers and auxiliary teams structured?

APM’s strength is not limited to permanent personnel. It supports a range of community-based programmes across the education and public sectors:

• Cadets and youth programmes from primary school to university level, including the Civil Defence Student Corps (Kor SISPA) for students of higher education institutions.
• The Civil Defence Auxiliary (CDA), which brings together civilian volunteers across the government, private, NGO and community sectors.

How did APM’s history develop?

Civil defence in Malaya began in 1939 when the British formed the Passive Defence under the Emergency Regulation Enactment Chapter 41 to face the Second World War. After that:

Year	Event
1951	The Civil Defence Ordinance 1951 was enforced as law
1952	The Civil Defence Department was officially established on 24 March
1957	The ordinance became the Civil Defence Act 1951 (Act 221) after independence
1958	Civil defence became a permanent element of the national defence system under the Ninth Schedule of the Federal Constitution
1972	Act 221 was amended to include peacetime duties and relief services
1995	The 991 Emergency Line was launched
2008	The short name changed to JPAM; the integrated 999 emergency number was introduced
2010	APM became a permanent member of the International Civil Defence Organisation (ICDO)
2016	JPAM was re-gazetted as the Malaysia Civil Defence Force (APM) with effect from 1 September

What’s next

Save the integrated emergency number 999 to reach civil defence assistance. Public participation is channelled through the Civil Defence Auxiliary (CDA), while students can join Kor SISPA at their respective institutions of higher learning. Official information on training, services and the agency’s structure is available on APM’s official website, civildefence.gov.my.