Ensuring safety calls for political will to take action

THE explosion at a fireworks factory in China’s Hunan province on Monday, killing 26 people and injuring 61 others, is a haunting echo of a nightmare that once happened in our own country. In 1991, the Bright Sparklers disaster in Sungai Buloh, dubbed the “Hiroshima of Selangor”, claimed exactly 26 lives.

As I watched the rescue operations at the Huasheng Fireworks factory in China, the coincidence was chilling. But more importantly, it served as a stark reminder of a time when Malaysia stood at a crossroads and chose the path of wisdom, transparency and reform.