The Earthquake Technical Committee should be reactivated to coordinate studies and reassess seismic risks in Malaysia following the recent earthquake incidents, according to Datuk Zamri Ramli, Director General of the Department of Minerals and Geoscience Malaysia (JMG).
Datuk Zamri said the committee, coordinated under the National Disaster Management Agency (NADMA), could refine existing data to enable appropriate studies and actions. He suggested the committee include representatives from technical agencies such as JMG, the Malaysian Meteorological Department (MetMalaysia), the Department of Survey and Mapping Malaysia (JUPEM), the Public Works Department (JKR), as well as academics and professional bodies.
“This proposed committee is crucial to reassess existing data on tectonic activity and potentially active fault lines,” he told Bernama. The committee was last active in 2020.
Zamri explained that the recent tremors in Segamat were an unexpected signal, triggered by tectonic activity that readjusted internal pressures along the fault zone, resulting in earthquakes.
He emphasized the need to study all of Malaysia’s ancient fault lines, estimated to be between 60 million and 200 million years old. “Key focuses include reassessing historical data on the characteristics of these old faults, determining slip rates, and measuring fault lengths to estimate potential magnitudes,” he said.
He added that microzonation studies and updated fault mapping are important, as earthquake impacts vary by location even at the same magnitude. JMG has already begun fieldwork in Johor, initially focusing on Segamat, before expanding to other identified areas.
Zamri also highlighted Malaysia’s exposure to earthquake risks from certain local regions as well as cross-border tremors from neighboring countries. He noted that geodesy expertise from JUPEM is vital to detect any post-quake shifts in fault movement rates.
Since 24 August, six minor earthquakes have been recorded in Johor. The first tremor in Segamat registered a magnitude of 4.1, followed by 2.8 later that morning. Subsequent tremors were recorded on 27 August (3.2), 28 August (2.5), 29 August (3.4), and 30 August (2.7).
