Small & Medium Enterprise (SME) make up 98.5% of business in Malaysia and operate in various sectors of industries ranging from trading, manufacturing, construction, oil & gas and many other services. By definition of the SME Corp, SMEs are manufacturing companies with sales turnover not exceeding RM50 million OR full-time employees not exceeding 200 workers. The current laws through Occupational Safety & Health Act 1994 and Factory & Machinery Act 1967 does not prescribe any requirement for a person-in-charge of safety and health for organisation smaller than 500 employees or 100 employees for certain high risk industries. However, workplace related accidents and incidents are on the rise in SME businesses and hence a proactive approach was developed by the Department of Occupational Safety & Health (DOSH), Malaysia to introduce the OSH-Coordinator competency to encourage the capability development in the areas of Occupational Safety & Health for SMEs.

OSHA AMENDMENT 2022

Section 29A requires any employer with five or more employees to appoint an OSH coordinator for the purpose of coordinating occupational safety and health issues at the place of work.