FMA 1967 vs OSHA 1994
The Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994 (OSHA 1994) is the overall legislation in respect of safety and health and the current law on Factories and Machinery Act 1967 (FMA 1967) shall be maintained as the technical aspect of safety legislation. (Tan K.H., 1995) The Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994 (OSHA 1994) which is based on the concept of self-regulation places the responsibility to ensure safety and health of workers on those who create the risk (the employers) and those who work with the risk (the employees). This legislation was made considering the fact that the Factory and Machinery Act 1967 only covers occupational safety and health in the sectors consist only 24% of the nation's total man power, while OSHA 1994 would cover 90% of the nation's total man power. (Azahar, 2013) The Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994 encourage constant active consultation and co-operation between employers and workers in the fulfillment of each other's duties and responsibilities in relation to Occupational Safety and Health. The Act's objectives would be achieved through a new approach which revolves around the conviction that a workplace will have an excellent chance of attaining a good standard of Occupational Safety and Health if it has a good Occupational Safety and Health management system supported by the workplace's top-level management.
This Act was gazetted on 25th February 1994 and may be cited as the Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994 (Act 514) (Azahar, 2013)
The OSHA 1994 covering all economic sectors, including the public services and statutory authorities (refer First Schedule OSHA 1994) Except those subjected to the Merchant Shipping Ordinance ( who are subjected to the Merchant Shipping Ordinance 1952, and Merchant Shipping Ordinance 1960 of Sabah and Sarawak) and the armed forces.
The systems and procedures