Business continuity and resiliency planning in disaster prone area of Sabah, Malaysia

Abstract

High frequency, magnitude and intensity of natural disasters in Malaysia have driven many governmental and non-governmental initiatives to mitigate the disaster risk, yet it is very difficult to reduce its impact. Even more challenging, an increasing trend of natural disasters has significantly impacted the business community and its continuity. Few international efforts have been developed and implemented but lacking of local content and largely focused on the impact towards global and multi-national Corporations. Besides, impacts of disaster on business are normally represented by certain figures based on approximation from existing datasets, expert judgement or interviews with vulnerable business owners.Business Continuity Plan (BCP) and its associated recovery program have been widely developed, but a comprehensive (BCP) in Malaysia is still elusive, even so for multi hazard, multi sectoral and local complexity. This study presents findings of BCP practices among the local Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in disaster prone area of Kundasang, Sabah.