WEBINAR ENHANCES KNOWLEDGE ABOUT WORKPLACE HEALTH AND SAFETY ISSUES

UUM ONLINE: Health and safety issues at work should not be taken lightly, and a safe workplace should be free of any risk of accidents.

In this regard, the Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM), School of Business Management (SBM), Social Security Management Centre of Excellence SBM-SOSCO (SOSCoE), in collaboration with the Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM), organised a Webinar entitled 'Unsafe Behaviour at Work' via Webex yesterday to increase knowledge and identify measures to improve practises in workplace safety issues.

The webinar was officiated by the Inspector General of Police, Dato' Sri Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani who stated in his speech that the webinar provided the best platform for sharing knowledge on workplace safety, particularly among PDRM personnel.

According to him, the PDRM established a guideline in the area of occupational safety and health, which the Narcotics Criminal Investigation Department was chosen to run as a pilot project last year, and it will be distributed to the Contingent Police Headquarters (IPK), District Police Headquarters (IPD), and other components of PDRMs from 2022 to 2025.

He stated that it was critical to establish an occupational safety and health culture, particularly among team members, in order to protect members and the general public from any danger arising from occupational activities.

"Hopefully, with these guidelines, workplace risks can be reduced to create a conducive and safe workplace environment, lowering the risk of accidents and allowing PDRM personnel to work more efficiently.

"I hope that all participants, particularly PDRM personnel, will gain useful knowledge from this sharing session to help them further their understanding and knowledge, particularly regarding workplace safety," he said.

Meanwhile, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research and Innovation) who is performing the duties of Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Dr. Haim Hilman Abdullah, stated in his welcome speech that, as frontline officers, PDRM officers and members were constantly exposed to various safety and health risks while performing their daily duties, and that all Malaysians were subject to Movement Control Order (PKP) last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to him, at the time, PDRM officers and members worked tirelessly regardless of time or weather conditions to ensure that the people adhered to the government-mandated standard operating procedures (SOP) of the movement in order to maintain public health and safety.

He stated that the day's webinar was one of UUM and PDRM's initiatives to ensure that all PDRM staff were aware of the implications of unsafe behaviour and occupational ailments on their performance in particular and PDRM in general.

"This programme, among others, attempts to examine the issues and challenges faced by all of us, particularly PDRM personnel, in carrying out the duties and responsibilities entrusted to them, aside from the COVID-19 pandemic, which has had a significant impact on everyone in various aspects such as socioeconomic, safety and health, and self-well-being.

"I also hope that this programme will discuss initiatives or efforts that can be done to improve the well-being, safety, and health of PDRM personnel; in fact, UUM is willing to help PDRM mobilise its expertise in order to strengthen the front line of PDRM in carrying out its duties well, which will have a positive impact on the cooperation between the two parties," he said.

Mr. Che Zulhaimee Abdullah, Vice-President of Human Resources at Honda Malaysia, was the keynote speaker for the one-day webinar. The webinar then moved on to talks, forums, and workshops.