TAN SRI LEE LAM THYE
OCCUPATIONAL safety and health (OSH) agencies and practitioners must uphold integrity and avoid corrupt practices that could lead to accidents and near-misses at the workplace. This can eliminate fraud that could result in occupational accidents.
That is why the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) will focus on integrity for its 22nd Conference and Exhibition on Occupational Safety and Health, which will be held at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre on Aug 26 and 27.
If people act with integrity, they will do the right thing even when no one is watching. Trust, ethics and honesty are key to integrity.
In the workplace, those who act with integrity will tell the truth, are accountable, transparent and reliable, and treat co-workers, stakeholders and customers with respect.
According to Business Ethics Institute of Malaysia, fraud elimination is a key aspect of sustainable safety management, especially in managing OSH, accidents or near-misses in the workplace.
Taking shortcuts and circumventing standard operating procedures will create unsafe practices, while abuse of power can result in the exploitation of workers to work in dangerous, dirty and demanding work environments. Conflict of interest and rewarding contracts to less-competent vendors can create safety hazards and expose workers to dangerous environment.
NIOSH signed the Corruption-Free Pledge with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission last year. We should educate OSH practitioners to have integrity and loathe corruption in the same way they are taught to hate drugs.
TAN SRI LEE LAM THYE
Chairman, National Institute of
Occupational Safety and Health