by NURUL SUHAIDI 

NORTHPORT Malaysia Bhd has organised a Northport Safety Day 2022 for its employees and port users to promote the importance of prioritising safe and healthy working practices among employees on Dec 2, 2022.

With the theme “Demi Keluarga Anda, Utamakan Keselamatan” (“For Your Family’s Sake, Safety First”), the event was filled with physical activities, health screening services, exhibition, presentation and awards to honour employees’ commitment in safety and health practices.

Northport CEO Datuk Azman Shah Mohd Yusof said the annual Northport Safety Day is back with exciting activities to encourage the culture of health and safety among members of TeamNorthport after two years of absence due to the pandemic.

“This programme also demonstrates our continuous effort to cultivate the importance of safety and health among our employees, and for the best performers, an opportunity to share a proud moment with their family members too,” said Azman in a statement today (Dec 19).

Sixteen agencies and companies were involved, including the Department of Safety and Health, National Anti Drugs Agency Malaysia, Social Security Organisation, Amanah Saham Nasional Bhd and National Higher Education Fund Corp, among others.

It also included the health and fitness chain, Fitness First as well as several other exhibitors.

The programme kicked off with the presentation of the “Best Safety Performer Awards” and was graced with the presence of former national bodybuilder Datuk Abd Malek Md Noor, or popularly known as Malek Noor, who is also Universal Fitness & Leisure Sdn Bhd ED.

During the programme, Malek Noor did some workout demonstrations while Fitness First led an aerobics exercise.

This year, Northport has won several awards and recognitions both locally and internationally for its health and safety initiatives.

In May, it won the International Association of Ports and Harbors (IAPH) 2022 Sustainability Award under the Health Safety and Security category during the IAPH 2022 World Ports Conference held in Vancouver, Canada.

With a project titled “Journey Towards HSE Excellence”, Northport defeated two other finalists, Port of Montreal and Port of Amsterdam, in this category.

This made Northport the first Malaysian port to receive this prestigious international award.

Last month, Northport made a clean sweep of awards at the National Occupational Safety and Health Awards 2020/2021.

Not only that, it took home three awards namely the CEO of the Year (Private Sector), Business Services and Mentor-Mentee awards, organised by the National Council of Occupational Safety and Health.

“The awards and recognitions received have further motivated us to continue serving our customers and stakeholders by delivering efficient service safely and sustainably, and at the same time elevating the safety and health culture to greater heights in our journey to be a safer, greener, smarter and better port,” concluded Azman.