PAYING little heed to the crashing waves and bad weather, picnickers continued swimming and frolicking in the sea off the popular Teluk Kemang beach in Port Dickson. 

Suddenly, the sound of a siren filled the air and a red flag popped up, warning swimmers to return to the beach immediately as the sea was getting too rough.

The country has many alluring beaches that draw hordes of visitors from home and abroad but many a time they are impervious to the hazards around them.

This is where Malaysia’s own “Baywatch” lifeguards step in.

Not many beach-goers are aware that the Malaysia Civil Defence Force, a unit under the Prime Minister’s Department, has a Baywatch team comprising 150 trained lifeguards stationed at 41 popular beaches around the country.

The name is inspired by the popular American television series (1989-2001) about the lifeguards of Los Angeles County, starring David Hasselhoff and Pamela Anderson.

Malaysia’s Baywatch lifeguards not only patrol the beaches but also monitor the sea and surrounding areas from their lookout tower – aptly called Baywatch tower.

There are two Baywatch towers in Teluk Kemang – one located at Batu 8 and the other about 900m away. There is also a Baywatch tower at Saujana beach at Batu 4.

Port Dickson district Civil Defence assistant director Lt Mohd Yaakob Md Asri said the Baywatch squad would issue a warning to swimmers if the weather turned nasty and waves became rough. 

A white flag flying at the Baywatch tower would mean that the sea conditions are safe for swimming and water activities; a red flag warns all to steer clear of the water.

“However, there are some who don’t heed the warnings and continue with their activities. These stubborn people are usually (tourists) who want to make full use of their visit to the beach,” Mohd Yaakob told Bernama.

He said four lifeguards, comprising Civil Defence staff and volunteers, are stationed at each Baywatch tower. They patrol the beach and monitor the goings-on from their tower through binoculars.

“The team is also equipped with boats, jet skis, all-terrain vehicles and other rescue equipment that are ready to be used in the event a rescue operation has to be launched,” he added.

Lamenting public disregard for safety, Mohd Yaakob said in Teluk Kemang, for instance, many swimmers continued to swim in areas allocated to jet ski and banana boat rides despite knowing that they could get hit by a watercraft.

Following tragedies involving banana boats in Teluk Kemang, the authorities placed some barricades in the sea in 2014 to separate the swimming area from the routes plied by jet ski and banana boat operators.   

In September 2014, 23-year-old Muhamad Hidayat Ramlan died from injuries sustained after being hit by a banana boat while he was swimming in Teluk Kemang.

In December 2013, a two-year-old girl drowned after she was flung into the sea during a banana boat ride. The girl and her father, along with other passengers, fell into the sea after an alleged stunt by the boat operator off Pantai Purnama.

Malaysia Civil Defence Force disaster management and operations assistant director Lt Col Mohd Rosman Abdullah said public apathy towards safety was not only evident in Port Dickson but also in other popular beaches in the country.

He said the government should consider empowering the Baywatch lifeguards to take necessary action against beach-goers who don’t listen to warnings.

“Currently, the Baywatch squads can only advise them and launch rescue missions if the need arises. They cannot carry out enforcement activities,” he said.

Mohd Rosman, however, said since the creation of the Baywatch team, there has been a drop in the number of accidents involving beach-goers.

In 2017, the Civil Defence Force handled 514 cases nationwide involving drowning and light injuries involving jellyfish stings and others, compared with 715 such cases in 2016.

In Port Dickson, the number of mishaps involving recreational water sports activities reduced to seven in 2017 from 10 in the previous year. There was one drowning case in 2017, as opposed to four in 2016.

A total of 18 children were reported to have gone missing in the seas off Port Dickson in 2017, down from 21 a year earlier.

The Baywatch lifeguards operate from 9am to 7pm daily. In Bagan Lalang, Selangor, and Pantai Cenang in Langkawi, they conduct round-the-clock operations. – Bernama, January 25, 2018.