Legislation, Regulations and Operator Responsibilities
This domain tests the Malaysian legal framework that makes forklift operation a controlled activity. Expect questions on the OSH Act 1994 (Act 514), the Factories and Machinery Act 1967 (Act 139), and the operator’s personal duties. The exam is not asking you to recite sections; it tests whether you can apply the duty hierarchy on a live site.
Core rules
- Employer duties: provide a safe plant and system of work, competent supervision, training, information, maintenance and PPE so far as is reasonably practicable (SFAIRP).
- Operator duties: under s24 OSH Act 1994, take reasonable care of yourself and others, cooperate with safety measures, and do not misuse safety devices.
- Forklifts as lifting machinery: under FMA 1967 they require examination/certification and maintenance by competent persons; the data plate and inspection status must be valid.
- Authorisation: a training certificate does not authorise every truck or site. Operate only the type you are trained for and only after site induction.
- Defects and fitness: report defects immediately, do not operate a defective truck, and never operate under alcohol, drugs, fatigue or medication that impairs you.
Worked example
A supervisor asks you to move a pallet using a forklift whose inspection tag expired last month. The load is within capacity. Reasoning: capacity is irrelevant if the truck is not legally inspected; you must decline, tag the truck out, and report. Your s24 duty is personal and cannot be overridden by a supervisor’s instruction.
Traps
- Assuming safety is only the employer’s duty.
- Treating ‘reasonably practicable’ as ‘do nothing if inconvenient’.
- Believing a licence covers all forklift classes and all sites.
- Failing to report a defect because the shift is busy.