GEORGE TOWN: Consumers Association of Penang (CAP) wants the Ministry of Human Resources to audit the Standard Operating Procedures of the Department of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH).
CAP president S.M. Mohamed Idris said the audit would enable the authorities to understand why DOSH’s work over the past 25 years to create a safety-conscious environment had been ineffective.
“The Human Resource Ministry disclosed in June 2015 that 92.5% of construction sites do not comply with specifications set by DOSH.
“The statistics show the ineffectiveness of DOSH in sending the message across to construction companies that laws have to be complied with at all times,” he said in a press release yesterday.
Mohamed Idris said the figures made a mockery of notices at worksites proclaiming ‘Safety First’.
“Putting up these notices does not absolve the industry from liability for injuries and death,” said Mohamed Idris.
“Neither do these notices absolve DOSH from ensuring that all safety precautions have to be followed.
“According to DOSH, it inspects only worksites of projects costing less than RM20mil and bigger projects are left in the hands of the companies under the concept of self-regulation because they can afford to engage consultants.
“In two major cases in Penang, the scaffolding fell at the second Penang bridge and the fin wall also collapsed at the 21-storey Umno building.
“The Commission of Inquiry set up by the Penang government found there was incompetence and negligence.
“This should have been a lesson to DOSH that consultants in construction companies also need to be audited to keep them on their toes at all times,” said Mohamed Idris.
He said the existence of DOSH should be reason enough for construction companies to follow the law without the need for DOSH officers to be at all the worksites at all times.
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