Inquiries into Malaysia's socio-technical disasters: recommendations and lessons learnt

Most democratic countries hold inquiries into disasters. One of their key functions is to establish the cause of an event and to learn lessons in order to prevent a recurrence. In addition, they offer an opportunity for communal catharsis, permitting the public to vent anger, distress and frustratio...

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Main Authors: Said, Aini Mat, Ahmadun, Fakhru'l-Razi, Kadir, Razali Abdul, Daud, Mohamed
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Blackwell Publishing 2009
Online Access:http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/6999/
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author Said, Aini Mat
Ahmadun, Fakhru'l-Razi
Kadir, Razali Abdul
Daud, Mohamed
author_facet Said, Aini Mat
Ahmadun, Fakhru'l-Razi
Kadir, Razali Abdul
Daud, Mohamed
author_sort Said, Aini Mat
building UPM Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Most democratic countries hold inquiries into disasters. One of their key functions is to establish the cause of an event and to learn lessons in order to prevent a recurrence. In addition, they offer an opportunity for communal catharsis, permitting the public to vent anger, distress and frustration and to exert pressure for policy changes. Malaysia has experienced six landmark socio-technical disasters since 1968, which resulted in the proposal or amendment of various safety/emergency acts and regulations. The authors used a grounded theory approach utilising a constant comparative method to analyse the recommendations made by the inquiries into these events. Data indicate that social and technical recommendations comprise 85 and 15 per cent, respectively, of the total recommendations made by the inquiry committees. This paper offers suggestions for improving the management of inquiry tribunals, as they will remain a valuable source of information for society and corporations to learn from past incidents.
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spelling upm-69992010-05-31T07:13:59Z http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/6999/ Inquiries into Malaysia's socio-technical disasters: recommendations and lessons learnt Said, Aini Mat Ahmadun, Fakhru'l-Razi Kadir, Razali Abdul Daud, Mohamed Most democratic countries hold inquiries into disasters. One of their key functions is to establish the cause of an event and to learn lessons in order to prevent a recurrence. In addition, they offer an opportunity for communal catharsis, permitting the public to vent anger, distress and frustration and to exert pressure for policy changes. Malaysia has experienced six landmark socio-technical disasters since 1968, which resulted in the proposal or amendment of various safety/emergency acts and regulations. The authors used a grounded theory approach utilising a constant comparative method to analyse the recommendations made by the inquiries into these events. Data indicate that social and technical recommendations comprise 85 and 15 per cent, respectively, of the total recommendations made by the inquiry committees. This paper offers suggestions for improving the management of inquiry tribunals, as they will remain a valuable source of information for society and corporations to learn from past incidents. Blackwell Publishing 2009-04 Article PeerReviewed Said, Aini Mat and Ahmadun, Fakhru'l-Razi and Kadir, Razali Abdul and Daud, Mohamed (2009) Inquiries into Malaysia's socio-technical disasters: recommendations and lessons learnt. Disasters, 33 (2). pp. 308-328. ISSN 0361-3666 http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-7717.2008.01076.x 10.1111/j.1467-7717.2008.01076.x English
spellingShingle Said, Aini Mat
Ahmadun, Fakhru'l-Razi
Kadir, Razali Abdul
Daud, Mohamed
Inquiries into Malaysia's socio-technical disasters: recommendations and lessons learnt
title Inquiries into Malaysia's socio-technical disasters: recommendations and lessons learnt
title_full Inquiries into Malaysia's socio-technical disasters: recommendations and lessons learnt
title_fullStr Inquiries into Malaysia's socio-technical disasters: recommendations and lessons learnt
title_full_unstemmed Inquiries into Malaysia's socio-technical disasters: recommendations and lessons learnt
title_short Inquiries into Malaysia's socio-technical disasters: recommendations and lessons learnt
title_sort inquiries into malaysia's socio-technical disasters: recommendations and lessons learnt
url http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/6999/
http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/6999/
http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/6999/