LETTER | The underground collision between two LRT trains that injured more than 210 passengers, with some in critical condition, should alert safety and health authorities around the country to reassess their safety standards and precautions.

It clear that many offices, public and commercial buildings are half empty or have limited safety and health staff who are not working due to being on unpaid leave or who are working from home in the context of Covid-19 restrictions.

Some of the buildings or workplaces might not have technologically advanced systems that can detect a fire in an efficient manner.

If there is an emergency, it would be an uphill battle to coordinate safety personnel due to a shortage of manpower.

In these contexts, it vital that the public and private sectors be on an alert mode to ensure there are adequate safety measures put in place. 

The safety and health offices nationwide should make periodic audit checks to ensure that there is a workable safety and health committee that is on constant alert and auditing all aspects off safety measures at the workplaces.

The LRT collision should not be seen as an isolated incident but a warning sign that the focus on containing the Covid 19 pandemic could have resulted in us paying less attention to other critical areas of safety and health in an organisational context.

Therefore, I urge the Human Resources Ministry, government and private sector to be on the alert with regard to safety precautions around the country.

The writer is secretary, Association for Community and Dialogue.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.