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Posted By: Yee Swat | Mar 30, 2023
DO YOU KNOW WHAT IS SOME OF THE LAWS IN RELATION TO SAFETY AND HEALTH AT WORK IN MALAYSIA?
LET’S GET TO KNOW SOME OF THE LAWS IN RELATION TO SAFETY AND HEALTH AT WORK IN MALAYSIA.
Do you hear of the Factories and Machinery Act 1967 (FMA 1967) and the Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994 (OSHA 1994) in Malaysia?
According to the Department of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH), the Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994 (OSHA 1994) provides the legislative framework to promote, stimulate and encourage high standards of safety and health at work. It defines the general duties of employers, employees, the self‐employed, designers, manufacturers, importers, and suppliers of plant or substances. While the Factories and Machinery Act 1967 (FMA 1967) is the legislation applicable to provide for the control of factories with respect to matters relating to the safety, health, and welfare of person therein, the registration and inspection of machinery, and matters connected therewith.
However, there are the latest legislative updates which the Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994 (OSHA) has been amended and the Factories and Machinery Act 1967 (FMA) is to be repealed, the amended OSHA was gazetted on 16th of March 2022 and it is still waiting for a fixed date for enforcement. This is because, as time goes by, it needed to be modified to reflect the new challenges and occupations that industrialization had brought forth. According to Malay Mail’s news published on 2nd of February 2023, Deputy Human Resources Minister Mustapha Sakmud said the Social Security Organization (SOCSO) receives about 60,000 reports of work-related and commuting accidents and occupational diseases every year, 64,168 cases were reported to SOCSO last year.
KEY CHANGES OUTLINED IN THE NEW OSHA
1. Principles or employers have additional responsibilities to employees.
- Comply with the legislative requirements of the amended OSHA to ensure the safety and health of contractors, subcontractors, and employees hired by contractors or subcontractors under the new S18A.
- Under S18B, employers have an extra responsibility to conduct a risk assessment in relation to the safety and health risks that are presented to any employee at work and to put risk controls in place as needed to eliminate or minimize all such risks.
2. Appointment of a coordinator for occupational safety and health
- Requires employer to appoint one of its employees as an occupational safety and health coordinator if there are five or more employees working there, and if the place of work does not fall under any of the classes or descriptions of workplaces listed in the Gazette that call for the appointment of a safety and health officer.
3. More employee protection
- All workplaces in Malaysia, including the public service and statutory authorities, are now covered by the amended OSHA's scope and applicability.
4. Penalties have been increased.
- Employers or principals who violate their respective responsibilities under the amended OSHA will face increased penalties rates from RM50,000 to RM500,000.
For more information, please feel free to contact Safetyware EHS Consultancy Sdn. Bhd. through:
📲: 012-498 7882
IN THE UPCOMING BLOG, WE WILL LOOK INTO HAZARDS IN THE WORKPLACE.
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