KUALA LUMPUR: The Alliance for Safe Community is calling for concerted efforts to tackle corruption within occupational safety and health (OSH) practices.
Its chairman Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye said there were growing concerns about the impact of corruption on workplace safety and society's overall wellbeing.
He said fraudulent practices within the OSH context could lead to injury and other negative impacts. He highlighted five examples of such practices:
* Purchase of low quality or sub-standard personal protective equiment (PPE), tools or equipment which could increase the risk to injury of employees.
* Inaccurate records, which could result in wrong assessment of a hazardous situation or characteristics of a product; or wrong appropriation of much-needed support to fix a risky environment.
*Taking short cuts or circumventing standard operating procedures, which could result in unsafe practices and acts.
* Abuse of power, which could result in the exploitation of workers in dangerous, dirty and demanding work environments, to achieve personal goals.
* Conflict of interest, and the rewarding contracts to less competent vendors, creating safety hazards and exposing employees to a hazardous environment without adequate protections.
Lee said it is crucial to reject corruption and prevent its integration into the cultural fabric of society, particularly among OSH practitioners.
"In the fight against corruption, the elements of integrity, governance process, morals and ethical behaviour should be integrated into the existing safety training syllabus.
"They need to uphold ethical and moral values so that when they are at the workplace, they would realise the importance of not getting involved in corruption," he said in a statement today.
While also acknowledging the commendable efforts of the Malaysia Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) in combating corruption, Lee said the battle against corruption must extend to all workplaces.
"Corruption in Malaysia has reached a worrying level, necessitating intensified action to address this menace in our society.
"It must never be tolerated in any form, as it impoverishes the country, causes hardships for the people and leads to economic decline.
"When it involves OSH practitioners and agencies, it may result in accidents that could cause injury or death."
He also stressed the importance of vigilance and proactive measures against corruption, highlighting its potential to undermine not only the economic and social fabric of society but also the moral foundations of order.