I accept my early termination as Niosh Chairperson with open heart, says Alice Lau

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Alice Lau

SIBU: Lanang MP Alice Lau said she accepts the early termination of her contract as the chairperson of National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (Niosh) with an open heart.

“I accepted this decision with an open heart and would like to take this opportunity to thank the management of Niosh for supporting my chairperson role through the six months period,” she said in a Facebook post.

Lau, the DAP’s two term MP for Lanang, is a pharmacist by profession with a master of Pharmacy from the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow.

Former Prime Minister Tun Mahathir Mohamad appointed her to serve from Oct 1, 2019 until Sept 20, 2022.

She replaced Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye, whose contract ended Sept 20, 2019. Lee had served as Niosh chairman for 25 years since 1994.

Lau expressed her appreciation for the constructive participation of the management board during the meetings she had with them.

“In this short period of six months, I have learnt a lot about the organizational works and its function in promoting safety and health in the workplace.”

Together with the management team, Lau said they had put forward some initiatives to the government to consider on the tax relief for imported personal protection equipment (PPE) which are not produced locally.

“We believe that by doing so, it will allow PPE to be made available cheaper for employer to supply to their staff,” she added.

During her short stint as Niosh chairperson, Lau said she had also lobby for more women to be trained in safety and health courses.

“I believe that when it comes to safety and health, there should not be any differentiation between the genders.”

Lau said she had also worked with the management to create more opportunities for Sarawakians and Sabahans to upgrade their skill through safety and health measures to make themselves more employable.

Besides, Lau said she had also made some efforts to upgrade the skills of the B40 group so that they can get better employment.