Working paper on Water Safety Council drafted

PUTRAJAYA: A working paper on the setting up of the proposed Water Safety Council has been drafted and is expected to be presented to the Cabinet next month for approval, says Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan.

He said the council would help better educate the public on water safety and would prevent more drowning incidents.

He added that the Cabinet paper had been drafted and circulated among the relevant ministries and departments for input and feedback.

“They are supportive of the idea of a council, with my ministry as the focal point to coordinate programmes, activities and information relevant to water safety awareness and early warning systems.

“I expect the paper to be tabled before the Cabinet next month for approval.

“The Council will serve as a platform for relevant government agencies, private sector and NGOs to discuss matters concerning water safety issues, be it recreational, sports, transportation, occupation or even in the home,” he said yesterday.

Abdul Rahman said he was contacted by National Institute of Occupational Health chairman Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye and Life Saving Society of Malaysia president Lim Chi’en Cheng early this year to discuss the setting up of the council.

Following the discussion, he said the ministry believed that it could play a significant role in addressing such incidents.

Abdul Rahman said with the council in place, it was hoped that authorities and the public would be more aware of the water safety risks and take precautions to prevent another tragic drowning incident like the one which killed five people from a family at the Belukar Bukit waterfall in Terengganu recently.