Why taking risk?

One of my lady colleague was killed in a car accident while she was carrying out her job visiting an oil palm estate just about a week ago. It was a freak accident as the 4-WD that she was sitting in, which was driven by another colleague over-turned on descending from a slope. Both of them were initially alright despite the car turned turtle but when she tried to climb out from the vehicle, the car over-turned one more time and this time around she was not so lucky and sustained serious head injury. It was a tragedy, a young mother left behind a 3-year daughter and a grieving husband.

During an official function carried out yesterday, this unfortunate incident was highlighted by our MD himself. The MD appeared to be both sad and disappointed as a lot of efforts and money have been put in to ensure the occupational risk is reduced to the minimum but yet such fatal accident is still unavoidable. But that’s what is it, for the rest of the employees, except for someone who really closed to her, it is business as usual and some especially those involved in occupational safety seemed to be worrying more on their KPIs rating rather than anything else.

As I always tell my colleagues, safety issues should not be taken lightly as it could be a matter of life and death. I remember many years ago when I was visiting an oil palm estate in Serian, Sarawak, we came to a huge pothole on a narrow estate road. I told the assistant who drove me around for field visit to made a turn and used other alternative road, seeing that our 4WD might get stuck, my companion refused to and said that with his 20 over years of driving experience, such bad road condition was peanut, so he confidently drove as hard as he could to get over the pothole and we got stuck. I stepped down from his 4-WD, he tried all his tricks and skills to come out form the mud but the car went deeper and deeper. I told him to call and get some helps, for heaven sake. My friend told me it was out of phone coverage. I looked at him and he looked at me somewhat regrettably.

As we were waiting for people passing by to help us getting out of trouble, we got hungrier, this friend of mine kept on puffing, eventually finishing a package of cigarettes. I supposed he got his stomach filled with all this nicotine and thus reducing his hunger. I’m not smoking, I got hungry, what a pity. By the time one estate tractor passed by and helped us to pull our vehicle, it was long passed the lunch hour. By the time we get out from the estate and reached the small town Serian, it was almost evening.

Since then, wherever I visit the estates during raining season I will tell this funny incident to the person who drives me, 20 years of experience doesn’t mean you would get stuck, why take the risk, no that there is no other alternative road.

I pray that my unfortunate colleague who succumbed to death so unexpectedly will rest in peace.