Need for centre to prepare people for disasters: Lee
Published on: Monday, June 22, 2015
Kundasang: It is high time that the Federal government looks into setting up a centre to prepare the people for natural disasters in the country, said National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (Niosh) Chairman Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye. He said Malaysians now needed to be more aware of any emergency as the massive floods last year in the peninsula and the recent earthquake in Sabah showed Malaysia could no longer be assumed as a country free from serious natural disasters. He said the June 5 5.9-magnititude earthquake that hit Ranau was a wake-up call to the government on its need to reassess whether it has done enough to cope with future quakes.
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"We must accept the fact that Malaysia is no longer safe from natural disasters. While we may not be able to prevent such disasters, we can however minimise the sufferings and damages," he said after presenting contributions to mountain guides at the Liwagu Restaurant situated on the foothill of Mt Kinabalu, here, Sunday.Lee added that technology should be utilised to devise an early warning system to prepare Malaysia for all major natural disasters such as tsunami, major floods and earthquakes in the future."We must emulate the Japanese and make time for safety education and all forms of safety drills, whether for earthquakes or other emergencies."The time has come for all Malaysians to take an active part in all safety drills. In Japan the people are prepared for any emergency because they know their country is always subject to natural disasters.
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"In Malaysia we have always adopted the attitude of we are safe and need not worry but in view of events that have happened, I think that from now on we must really take an active interest in all matters relating to safety training and drills.Meanwhile, Lee said Niosh is developing an occupational, safety and health training module for high-risk workers of the tourism industry such as mountain guides and tour guides involved in marine, forest and river activities.
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Working on the details with the Sabah government through the Tourism, Culture and Environment Ministry, he said they were currently drafting the module.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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