Sarawak records 21 industrial accident deaths till July 2019

BINTULU: A total of 208 industrial accidents with 21 deaths were recorded by the state Occupational Safety and Health Department (OSHD) as of July this year, according to its director Ir Dr Nor Halim Hasan.

He said as of May this year, the department had prosecuted 18 cases in court and issued 20 compounds amounting to RM420,500, with another 80 cases – 49 court cases and 31 compoundable cases – still under investigation.

“For the record, Sarawak recorded the highest fatal accidents at workplace in 2018 with a total of 47 deaths, out of a total 422 accident cases.

“This is equivalent to one industrial accident per day and four fatalities per month,” he told a press conference after officiating at the opening of ‘OSH at Technical and Vocational Education and Training (OSH@ TVET)’ at Mara Skills Training Institute (IKM) Bintulu yesterday.

Nor Halim said based on statistics, about 38 per cent of the victims were aged between 20 and 29, and had just started working.

He added most cases were caused by the incompetency of the workers in using the machinery at their respective workplace.

Thus, he said the OSH@TVET event was the department’s initiative to create greater awareness on occupational safety measures and risks while working.

“I urge all parties, whether employers or workers, to play their respective role in ensuring workplace safety and health are given top priority,” he added.

Some 200 IKM Bintulu students took part in the event, which is part of the ‘ Strategy 3, Programme 4, OSH Master Plan 2020’ to promote occupational safety and health for future workers.

In his speech earlier, Nor Halim said the department had implemented various initiatives such as audits, inspections, court actions and also awareness campaigns to stakeholders to reduce the workplace accident rate.

Also present were IKM Bintulu deputy director (Academic Affairs) Azman Long and OSHD Bintulu branch chief Mohamad Azril Abdul Jalil.

For the record, Sarawak recorded the highest fatal accidents at workplace in 2018 with a total of 47 deaths, out of a total 422 accident cases. This is equivalent to one industrial accident per day and four fatalities per month

Ir Dr Nor Halim Hasan

Nor Halim (sixth right), Azman (fifth right), Mohamad Azril (seventh right) together with other guests and students give a ‘zero’ sign to signify zero workplace accidents.

Fatimah (sixth left) leads the cake-cutting ceremony, joined by Sharifah Hasidah (fifth right) and Len Talif (fifth left).