I REFER to the report “4 men in Muar electrocuted while hanging party flags” (NST, April 22).
In the 1am incident, 10 election campaign workers and volunteers were placing flags on a high-voltage electric line using a bamboo pole.
Four of them were electrocuted as they were lifting the pole, and flung several metres away. One suffered broken ribs, while the others sustained minor injuries.
Tenaga Nasional Berhad, in a statement, recently warned all parties contesting the 14th General Election to avoid hanging campaign materials on its facilities and infrastructure, or face action.
In the lead-up to an election, politicians may be exposed to, or expose other persons, to health and safety risks.
As the campaign period is a time of heightened political awareness and activity, they should exercise their “duty of care” to others, that is personal liability.
Physical hazards faced by voters, conference attendees, volunteers and journalists on the campaign trail shouldn’t be ignored. Campaign workers could fall off the stage at a rally or attendees could get electrocuted when electrical wiring snap off. They could also get injured or die in a road accident.
Legal liabilities of this nature are rampant during the campaign period.
To put it simply, an oil patch on the floor at a campaign venue or shop may cause a supporter to slip, fall and sustain injuries.
The crane used in assembling a temporary stage may fall and injure rally-goers. Or, the grandstand of a stadium may collapse, injuring numerous attendees.
Campaign activities that expose a politician to legal liabilities could arise while he is holding a media briefing, manning information stalls, door-knocking or placing campaign posters, banners and flags. All these may expose a politician to personal liability risks.
Politicians can be held liable for damages in respect of accidental death or bodily injury to a third party, and accidental damage to the third party’s goods and/or property incurred as a result of campaign activities or in connection with the campaign.
Third party’s bodily injury or death resulting from negligence also exposes politicians to liability risks. They are also susceptible to liability risks arising from trespass, which should not be taken lightly.
By definition, bodily injury means physical and non-physical injury sustained by the third party which encompasses illnesses or diseases. It includes mental harm such as serious nervous shock accompanied by psychotic symptoms.
Third party means a person other than the politician himself. In this context, members of the politician’s family are excluded from being considered as third party. In other words, the third party could be any member of the public, including campaign workers, volunteers and anyone other than members of his family and himself.
Legal liabilities can arise in various forms during an election campaign. Legal suits could be costly, hence, managing such risks is a must.
OSWALD TIMOTHY EDWARD
Risk Management lecturer,
UiTM Johor