Bangi: The establishment of the permanent secretariat office of the Asian Occupational Safety and Health Research Institute (AOSHRI) at the headquarters of the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) in Bandar Baru Bangi reflects Malaysia's commitment to strengthening occupational safety and health (OSH) development at the regional level. Deputy Human Resource Minister Datuk Seri Abdul Rahman Mohamad highlighted the office's role as both an administrative centre for AOSHRI and a dynamic hub for ASEAN-led OSH research, policy coordination, and cross-border knowledge exchange.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, Abdul Rahman stated that this initiative is part of the Kuala Lumpur Declaration on ASEAN 2045, emphasizing the importance of promoting holistic and inclusive research and adopting a regional approach in ASEAN. The announcement was made during the launch of the ASEAN OSH Summit 2025, where NIOSH chairman Chong Chieng Jen was also present.
Abdul Rahman further mentioned that AOSHRI unites OSH-related research organizations from ASEAN countries and regional partners, including China, Japan, and South Korea. He stressed that the institute's extensive membership network illustrates that safeguarding worker wellbeing is not solely a national agenda but a shared regional priority.
Efforts to advance OSH research, Abdul Rahman explained, can be bolstered with the support of NIOSH Malaysia, which is equipped with 13 specialized laboratories. These facilities focus on areas such as industrial hygiene, chemical and biological analysis, ergonomics, and personal protective equipment testing. He noted that these world-class facilities, capable of conducting high-impact studies and supporting the development of standards, are vital for furthering OSH research across the region.
On a related note, Abdul Rahman introduced the Malaysia Research Initiatives for National Agenda 3.0 (MaRINA 3.0) framework, which will be presented at the summit. This framework is anticipated to serve as a reference for regional countries in shaping their own research directions. He detailed that the Pre-MaRINA 3.0 workshop, organized by NIOSH in Putrajaya last month, gathered experts from ASEAN and beyond, including representatives from the International Labour Organisation (ILO), the Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries (SESRIC) of Trkiye, and the University of South Australia. The workshop outlined Malaysia's OSH research priorities for the next five years, focusing on emerging OSH risks, industrial transformation, and the future of work.