PETALING JAYA: A dip in the swimming pool at a hotel or theme park can be a very dangerous activity, especially for toddlers. Last year alone, 42 children aged five and below lost their lives under such circumstances.
In fact, children are most at risk at recreational facilities where the pool is the main attraction.
More than 90% of those who died at such facilities were aged 10 and below, according to the National Drowning Registry.
As expected, most of the incidents take place during school holidays when families are on vacation.
Users of swimming pools at hotels and theme parks are supposed to be constantly under the watchful eye of lifeguards and if they are children, their parents or guardians should be watching out for them as well.
But are hotels and theme parks doing enough to prevent such tragedies?
No, according to Lim Chi’en Cheng, president of the Life Saving Society Malaysia.
“We see signboards advising people not to allow children to enter pools without adult supervision,” Lim said.
“In most cases, children can’t read and fully understand such warnings.”
He said it is for this reason that hotels and theme parks as well as concerned parties must play an active role in being vigilant in monitoring children around bodies of water.
Lim said the government could also do its part by coming down hard on those who fail to ensure that safety measures around pools are strictly enforced.
“There must also be regulations to ensure that all swimming pools are fenced up on four sides to prevent a child from accidentally entering the pool,” he added.
Malaysian Association of Hotels chief executive officer Yap Lip Seng agreed that safety issues are not one-off concerns that can be addressed with fixed solutions.
“We agree it requires consistent improvements,” he said.
Yap added that while hotels constantly explore new and updated options to improve safety, other parties also have a role to play in educating, preventing and enforcing recommended regulations and guidelines.
“When someone has already drowned, it is no longer a matter of pointing the finger unless it is obviously the result of negligence or non-compliance of safety rules,” he said.
Yap also stressed that hotels are always in compliance with existing local legislation on safety measures and it is incumbent upon them to have trained and certified lifeguards for both adult and children’s pools.
“In fact, many hotels exceed these requirements. At many hotels, employees who are assigned to such locations are also trained to detect distress signs and respond accordingly.”
A reader of theSun, Datuk Dr Amar Singh, who wrote in to voice concern, said there must be adequate lifeguards available when pools are open. At other times, no one should be allowed access to the water, he added.
