Category: Safety EN

The Consumers Association of Penang (CAP) refers to the recent report in the press on the confessions of an express bus driver who had been plying the Kuala Lumpur-Terengganu route for 10 years. We are deeply concerned to note that bus drivers are taking pil khayal or pil kuda just to stay awake and cope with their rigorous driving hours. Sometimes the bus drivers are required to run the return...

Consumers’ Association of Penang (CAP) views with concern the incident in Shah Alam where 31 students of a school there fell ill and had breathing difficulties – apparently following the release of a toxic chemical known as ethyl mercaptan. Exposure to ethyl mercaptan can cause headaches, weakness, fatigue, nausea, lack of coordination and irritation of the mucous membranes. Children are...

The Consumers Association of Penang (CAP) is alarmed at the latest motor vehicle accident statistics which indicate that between 10 to 15 motorcycle riders and pillion riders die as a result of accidents every day in the country. There has been a 9.6 per cent increase in deaths which translate into 290 additional deaths of which 211 were motorcycle riders and pillion riders, between January and...

The Consumers Association of Penang (CAP) congratulates the Road Transport Department for its ongoing success in curbing the illegal use of Xenon HID (High Intensity-Discharge) lights on vehicles in the country. Xenon lights are a proven hazard to Malaysian motorists. They are far more suited for use in European countries where visibility is low due to foggy conditions or during winter....

The Consumers Association of Penang (CAP) is increasingly worried about the substantial number of accidents involving cranes at construction sites in this country.  Most of these cases are caused by non-compliance of basic safety guidelines as stipulated by the Department of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH). In May 2007, two contractors and a crane manufacturer were charged in court over a...

Henna, a 9,000 year-old South Asian and Middle Eastern tradition of painting the body, has found its way to the mainstream. Henna tattoos have been spotted on everyone from singing divas to movie stars to spring breakers. Henna is also used to dye hair. Though the popularity of the body art rises, information surrounding it does not. Few realise that a form of henna, called "black henna," can...

Reports are surfacing that young people wearing soft-soled clogs are getting their toes caught in escalators. A popular brand of these clogs known as Crocs appears to be often implicated in these reports. In 2007, the Consumers Association of Penang (CAP) received a complaint from a mother who informed us that her 4-year-old son’s Crocs shoe was swallowed up into an escalator after slipping...

Malaysian transport authorities received another wake up call in the form of an express bus accident on Sunday. This is a clear indication such tragedies will continue unless serious measures are put into place without further delays and flip-flops. As reported by the victims, the bus driver was speeding. This shows that bus drivers will continue to flout the law as long as nothing concrete is...