Safety….Malaysian style….

rempit540In Malaysia, the norm is usually, “Do as I tell you, not as I do!”

Most international firms, at least the reputable ones practise “Safety first”.

In Malaysia, it is usually “Safety Last”!

In Malaysia, you will probably have seen some horrific safety violations in your time,

People who do not buckle up…and this includes the police. Mat Rempits doing stunts on the highway. Toddlers playing on balconies, unsupervised. Children, being allowed to swim in the sea, unsupervised. Children playing with fireworks, and no adult in sight. Children left by a pool or pond on his own.

The police are usually the ones whom you find double parking (whilst they get their tapau) or park dangerously at a corner or on double yellow lines. Woe betide you if you complain they are breaking the law – they will not hesitate to book you.

If you have been to any of the offshore islands, like Langkawi or any island of the east coast, and take a boat ride, you will find that life jackets are rarely used. You will finally be issued with one, only when an inspector for the marine parks is due for a visit.

Children are usually issued with an adult life-jacket, and it is not uncommon to find that you can fit three children in one life jacket. And we wonder why there are so many deaths when a boat overturns.

You need only open your eyes when you drive on Malaysian roads. People do the most stupid stunts and we are not talking about the Mat Rempits – most of whom are stoned.

You will probably have seen whole families on a kapchai (motor pret). Some carry their lifestock on the back of the motor.

Here is a photo of a man with a new safety system. He may think he serves two purposes – He is surrounded by a protective safety barrier and transportation of goods, all in one go.Motos in Vietnam  014

 

 

 

 

 

You will have seen children using toy helmets when they are riding pillion on a kap chai. I have seen at least one child with a child’s potty on his head. Did the parent think the police would be fooled by this “helmet” looking thing on the child’s head?

What about the people who do NOT want to waste electricity and so they refuse to switch on their car / kapchai/ bicucle/ lorry / taxi / van lights because although it is dusk, the man says that he can “still see”?

like people driving slow in the fast lane or people driving on the hard shoulder because the other lanes have too many cars.

I have seen babies put on the mother’s lap as she drives along the highway. Or long distance lorry drivers on the North-South highway, turning the steering wheel with their legs – presumably so he can rest his arms. At other times, I have seen drivers watching a movie on a screen which they have installed on the dashboard.

You may have seen worse safety violations.

– See full article at: http://www.theantdaily.com/Main/Safety-M-sia-style-A-child-s-potty-Mat-Rempits-and-cops

Photo credits to TheAntDaily
Photo credit of man on kapchai to Ton Koene.

 

Rebuilding Malaysia
79Shares

Leave a Comment