Accidents at construction sites must stop - The Star Online
The Star Online, 17 August 2015
I REFER to the report “Two severely injured as parts of a building collapse” (The Star, Aug 13) where two men were seriously injured while three others suffered minor injuries when two levels of a building under construction at Phase 2 Prima Selayang collapsed.
Reports of construction site accidents resulting in either deaths or injuries are very rampant these days with no end in sight.
Those who are concerned about construction safety cannot help wondering if accidents is the price we have to pay for our failure to make safety a culture in our construction industry.
Many a time when accidents at construction sites occur the victims are always foreign workers.
They are either the Bangladeshis or the Indonesians. Imagine how tragic it can be when these foreign workers, who have gone through so much to come here to eke out an existence in support of their families in far-away homes, never return alive to their loved ones.
Enough is enough. The time has come for all those involved in the construction industry to ask some serious questions why they are not able to prevent more accidents, injuries and loss of lives.
Developers, contractors and sub-contractors have to ask themselves seriously and search their conscience as to whether they have done enough to avert more accidents and disasters.
How committed are they to safety, are they prepared to fully comply with the all rules and safety procedures and do they practice self-regulation and pay serious attention to supervision and monitoring of all safety measures at all construction sites?
Are these foreign construction workers given more exposure to safe practices at the construction sites other than just providing them with the green cards to gain access to the work sites?
It is high time for everyone involved in the construction sector do some serious soul-searching as to whether they have done enough to address the issue of construction safety, prevent more tragedies and protect the image of the construction industry.
Let it not be said that the construction industry in Malaysia is always a high risk industry where construction site accidents frequently occur due to poor safety practices.
We can and must manage safety issues at all construction sites though stringent law enforcement under the OSHA 1994, penalising the errant builders, contractors and sub-contractors and providing safety supervision, education and training to all those at work at construction sites.TAN SRI LEE LAM THYE,Kuala Lumpur
