Taskforce to address accidents in lifts and escalators to be set up in two months

KUALA LUMPUR: Due to a large number of accidents involving children in elevators and escalators, the Federal Territories Occupational Safety and Health Department intends to set up a task force to address the issue within two months.
Its director general Datuk Mohtar Musri said the taskforce committee will involve representatives from the Fire and Rescue department, local councils, the Federal Territories and Selangor's Occupational Safety and Health Department (Dosh), and the Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government ministry.
"We are currently in the midst of reaching out to the respective stakeholders, especially safety experts," he said, adding that the task force would be established within two months.
"We want to study the overall aspects on why these accidents occurred and produce a guideline that will be implemented to ensure safety standards.
"We will first start at the federal and Selangor level, and following the task force's output, it may be expanded to Penang and Johor," he told reporters yesterday after officiating the Elevator and Escalator Safety Campaign here.
He said the move was necessary as the department noted that about 95% of the incidents involved children.
The Elevator and Escalator Safety Campaign will see signage being put up to inform the public about emergency buttons that can be used to stop elevators and escalators when an incident happens
Dosh (Federal Territories and Putrajaya) director Husdin Che Ahmat said the aspects that will be discussed includes the financial setbacks in terms of maintenance, strategies to create awareness on safety, vandalism, and reducing the fatality figures.