KUALA LUMPUR: A new kind of passport will be in use here, but it has nothing to do with travel.

Enter the “safety passport”, which is to be issued soon to all Syarikat Prasarana Negara Bhd’s contractors and workers.

The passport, said Prasarana, is meant to prevent accidents at its constructions sites.

According to Prasarana’s infrastructure development group director Amiruddin Ma’aris, all its contractors and their workers must have the passport before they are allowed into project sites, with the move expected to make the workers well-versed with safety-related practices at the workplace.

“Workers are required to attend a safety briefing as well as pass a test at the end of the session before they are eligible to receive this safety passport,” he said after attending a memorandum signing ceremony between Prasarana and the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (Niosh) here yesterday that was also attended by Niosh chairman Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye.

The module for obtaining the passport was jointly crafted by Prasarana and Niosh, with the latter being the passport “issuer”.

Several accidents have occurred at LRT-related construction sites since last year, all of which are under Prasarana’s jurisdiction.

The latest was on June 26, when a steel beam that was being lifted at a site along Jalan Lapangan Terbang Subang fell onto a passing car, injuring the driver and passenger.

When contacted, Lee said Niosh would organise a one-day safety induction programme in September for the 40,000-odd workers at Prasarana’s sites.

“The programme will help workers understand the Occupational Safety and Health Act, and enable them to have proper knowledge when at work, including understanding basic safety rules.

“Workers must show the passport to the supervisor in charge at the work site before they are allowed entry,” he said, adding that the passports should enhance safety at construction sites given that such sites would already have a qualified site safety supervisor present.

“The programme will help increase awareness and compliance. Some foreign workers have no idea about our regulations, and are not aware that they are supposed to put on protective equipment,” he added.

When contacted, Prasarana’s senior vice-president for communications Azhar Ghazali said the safety programme would cover all projects, including the Bus Rapid Transit Project, parking bays and buses.

“Safety has always been our priority and we will continue to enhance aspects related to safety.”