PETALING JAYA, June 10 — The public are furious with apparent inefficiency of the system that the Department of Occupational Safety and Health Malaysia (Dosh) uses to inspect facilities such as escalators.

Fomca president Datuk N. Marimuthu said it was ridiculous that the safety of people was not taken into consideration. 

“It is disheartening to know that the public’s safety is being compromised. How are people supposed to have a good time at malls if they are constantly worrying about their well-being?” he said.

He was commenting on a recent incident on Monday where a three-year-old boy was injured after his genitals were caught between the steps of an escalator at a shopping centre in Bagan Serai. 

Fire and Rescue Department officers, using crowbars, took about half-an-hour to rescue the boy.

It was reported the shopping centre had not asked Dosh to conduct an inspection for it to get a renewal for its certificate of fitness (CF) — a requirement that needs to be done every 15 months. 

There is no requirement for the department to carry out mandatory inspections.

Marimuthu said the department should be looking into ways of upgrading their inspection protocol to monitor the registration and renewal of CFs.

“Instead of waiting for an accident to occur, the authorities must improvise and update the system. It is very alarming that escalator accidents are continuously occurring.”

He said constant monitoring should be done instead of allowing accidents to happen. 

“Why must they wait for a report to be made before the department or mall management takes further action or do an inspection? What happened to being careful and taking precautionary measures?” 

He said the people responsible for the mishap must be punished, or they would not be aware of the severity of the issue. 

Malaysian Consumer Association secretary-general Datuk Amarjit Singh Gill said the department should increase the standards of its operating procedure to ensure accidents do not occur.

“The renewal of elevators or escalators should not be based on a voluntary basis. This increases the chances of operators taking things for granted,” he said.

“This shows how outdated the regulations are. The department must have a system that informs them about companies that don’t renew the electronic facilities on time so that they can be penalised.”

He said the operators should be held responsible for negligence if machinery were faulty. 

People met by Malay Mail expressed anger and frustration over the matter. 

“I don’t feel safe taking my kids out to malls after finding out that some mall operators fail to maintain the safety of their elevators and escalators,” said IT engineer Shahrash Warran, 30.

He said the situation was worrying. 

“This is not the first time a child is injured because of an escalator. It is infuriating to know that the relevant authorities are not doing anything to make sure people visiting malls are safe,” he said. 

Sales manager Steve Chan said frequent accidents at shopping malls had made him extra alert and cautious every time he took his six-year-old daughter out.

“I am worried that something might happen to my daughter. It is intolerable for mall managements to be irresponsible and for authorities in allowing them to get away with it,” said the 36-year-old. 

Site engineer Syazwani Ishak, 30, said the many escalator accidents are alarming.

“How is the management or safety department going to ensure that we will be safe when we use such facilities?”

She said, for the moment, she would use the stairs when she goes to malls. 

“I don’t want to take the risk of being injured. It looks like the safer option is taking the stairs until the relevant authorities fix this problem,” she said.