Give High Priority To Health And Safety, Says Abdullah

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 7 (Bernama) -- Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi wants employers and employees to give high priority to health and safety at the workplace.
"It should be your priority to aspire for health and safety at your workplace to be at the level of advanced countries," the Prime Minister said when presenting Occupational Health and Safety excellence awards here Tuesday night.
Abdullah said that as skilled and qualified workers were the product of investment in education and training, injuries and sickness of workers due to industrial accidents or deplorable conditions at the workplace would be a loss to the nation.
"Therefore, we must always look after our health and safety," he said, adding that a lot of people did not value their health until they lost it because of an accident or sickness.
"It's only when one loses a leg because of an accident that one realises its value," he said.
Excessive smoke emitted at factories could affect workers' health, he said, adding that fire safety equipment such as extinguishers also ought to be in serviceable condition.
To be highly competitive and able to meet the challenges of the global economy, he said Malaysia must have healthy workers who were highly skilled to propel their industries to greater heights.