Original Safety Awareness at Sea: Perspectives from Marine Unit, Royal Malaysian Custom Department

Law enforcement officers face many dangerous and stressful situations in the line of duty. Some, such as gun violence, are obvious; other dangers (e.g., fatalities while working at sea) are hidden but common and can hinder officer performance. Officer performance is also affected by training and other factors. This article uses best-practice research to examine the relationship between safety culture, safety training, employee involvement, and safety awareness at the workplace, specifically to law enforcement employees working at sea. Safety awareness considered a vital element in every organization to enhance their employees’ performance. Quantitative research methodology was applied to examine the relationship between independent variables and dependent variable. The questionnaire are divided into five sections, covering demographic factors, safety culture, marine safety training, employee involvement, and safety awareness at the workplace. A total of 30% of 550 employees from the Marine Unit of the Royal Malaysian Customs Department were selected randomly as respondents. This study indicates that safety culture, safety at sea training, and employee involvement have a significant positive relationship to safety awareness at the workplace. A recommendation is then offered for law-enforcement safety management that can apply to the Marine Enforcement Unit of Royal Malaysian Customs to eliminate accidents, injuries, and fatalities at sea in the marine enforcement profession. The Marine Customs law enforcement professionals may benefit

In the maritime industries, worker safety at sea is just as important as worker safety in land-based industries. Despite significant advancements in technology and workplace safety, the maritime sector continues to be a dangerous place to work, a situation that affects all aspects of the maritime industry.
As an example, enforcing the law at sea is a profession that involves significant risk. As a result, a law enforcement officer must take the safety of the vessel and its crew members into consideration before beginning their activities.
It's a well-known fact that the sea can be deceivingly beautiful in one moment and then, in the blink of an eye, change its deceptive nature and transform into the worst nightmare the world has ever known.
Therefore, safety at sea is critical, and workers' knowledge, experience, and skills are essential components of any maritime activity. Nagalingam and Anuar (2020) highlighted issues on safety should not be taken lightly. In the perspectives of chemical warehouse, stern action need to be applied because any mistakes will caused life. The same situation applies to safety at sea. Any single mistakes will caused life. Therefore, it is a must to avoid any risks on incidents and accidents from growing.
First and foremost, safety is the motto worn by the vast majority of seafarers around the world, including law enforcement officers who are part of the seafarers in the government's sector that enforces government law at sea as well as seafarers in the private sector. With this slogan in mind, the mission of every maritime organization, including the government, the private sector, universities, academies, and training centres, is to promote maritime safety on a permanent basis, regardless of the circumstances. Science and technology have made significant improvements in maritime safety, affecting everything from seafarers' safety culture to ship design and construction to ship navigation and management. However, perhaps the most significant change in maritime safety has been www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/asir Applied Science and Innovative Research Vol. 5, No. 3, 2021 87 Published by SCHOLINK INC. re-evaluating the importance of safety awareness in the workplace.
Many maritime organizations believe that enacting new rules and regulations is not the only way to improve safety in the industry. Instead, taking proactive rather than reactive initiatives and enforcing existing regulations may prove to be more effective in achieving safety goals than other approaches.
Within the safety net, it is necessary to promote a safety-first attitude. Any maritime accident at sea, including those involving government organizations, will have a significant impact on how safety is managed in the future. This is because any maritime accident at sea will have a significant impact on how the organization operates as well as how human life and the environment are protected.

Problem Statement
Given that Malaysia is a maritime country surrounded by water and contains more than 800 islands in total, sea transportation is extremely important, and customs law enforcement at sea is critical in protecting our maritime nation's interests. Malaysia is also home to the Malacca Strait, one of the world's busiest straits, making Malaysia's maritime zone more vulnerable to Customs illegal activities, criminal activity, and marine incidents.
In the 1980s, a study was conducted to explore employees' perceptions of the importance of safe occupational conduct in the workplace (Zohar, 2002). It was found that, perceived management towards safety, perceived effects of safe conduct on promotion, perceived effects of safe conduct on social status, perceived the organization status of the safety officer, perceived importance and effectiveness of workplace safety training, perceived risk level at work, and finally, perceived effectiveness of enforcement versus guidance in promoting safety are all investigated in greater depth than in previous studies.
The Malaysian government has made efforts to raise worker safety awareness in order to create a safer and healthier workplace. As a result, a variety of safety-related campaigns and programmes, such as a safety awareness-raising campaign, have been implemented (Zakaria et al., 2012).
Despite the fact that safety at sea is important, no comprehensive study has been conducted on the subject, particularly involving government seafarers such as Marine Customs enforcement officers who perform their duties at sea. Safety concerns at sea were raised among Marine Customs enforcement officers, and these concerns centred on the officers' safety in the workplace, particularly in the maritime working environment. When any marine accident involving the officer is likely to disrupt the Customs enforcement operation, endanger human life, environmental catastrophe, and subsequently lead to economic damage. Ivancevich (2001) explains that accidents, injuries, and the suffering experienced by employees affect the employee only, and their employer feels even the effect. Therefore, cost-oriented employers should acknowledge how much they need to control employee safety and health issues to prevent accidents and health disorders.
Accidents or fatalities at the workplace involving law enforcement employees at sea still occur.
Accident in the workplace happens when the "people" elements engage in safe and unsafe behaviour Customs officers. This is important because any maritime accident at sea is likely to disrupt the organization's operations, endanger the environment and human life.
The research objectives are:

1)
To determine the safety culture implemented in the organization has a statistically significant relationship with the level of safety awareness at sea among employees of the Marine Customs Enforcement Unit of the RMCD.

2)
To investigate whether the mandatory training requirement for Marine Customs employees on the STCW Code Basic Training (BT) for seafarers has a significant impact on the level of safety awareness at sea among the Marine Customs Enforcement Unit of the RMCD employee.

3)
To assess whether employee participation in the Safety and Training Committee of the Marine Customs Enforcement Unit of the RMCD has a significant impact on the level of safety awareness at sea or not.
In addition to its core mission of providing effective customs services to communities, the Marine Customs officer also plays other critical roles as security responders in our nation's ability to respond effectively to terrorist acts, natural disasters and pandemics. Unfortunately, these factors result in fatalities and injuries, and the readiness of an agency to respond to these and other emergencies is compromised.

Significance of the Study
Safety at sea concerning Marine Customs enforcement employees that working at sea has recently raised the management awareness in the facing of catastrophic events, for example, an incident of a collision between the customs enforcement vessel, injury at sea, fire at sea, man overboard, the vessel grounded, sinking of the vessel and so on. The highlighted issue is the first step in reducing marine casualties among the Marine Customs enforcement employees. Besides, this will lead the management to understand the Marine Customs enforcement employees' constraints while conducting their duties at sea. It also gives an overview of the significant factors that affect safety at sea in the Marine Customs enforcement environment at the Malaysian maritime zone.
It is anticipated that this research will enhance customs law enforcement at sea by implementing efficient marine safety precautions for marine customs employees and helping management to adhere to the current situation and make actionable "The best results decisions". However, the actionable decision and action are management privileges due to limited research scope.

Royal Malaysian Customs Department (RMCD)
The

Safety Practice and Theory
When it comes to explaining why accidents and injuries occur in the workplace, there are indeed a few academic theories of safety management systems found. People and their ability to adapt to changing circumstances are highlighted in one approach, whereas systems inside an organization are highlighted in the other. Although, these concepts are closely associated with organizations that manage complex and dangerous technologies, such as the nuclear industry. However, understanding them may assist organizations in developing a comprehensive approach to implementing appropriate safety programmes aimed at prevention in their respective industries.

The Safety Theories of Herbert William Heinrich
To trace the history of accident modelling back to its origins, we must look no further than Herbert W.
Heinrich's 1931 book Industrial Accident Prevention, which was the important work on accident comprehension. Heinrich asserted that the following are his fundamental principles for applying research to the prevention of accidents: "(1) through cultivating and maintaining an active interest in safety; (2) through fact-finding; and (3) through the implementation of corrective action based on research findings" (Heinrich, 1931).
Heinrich's defence, which is both a practice and philosophy, is one of the most widely accepted safety theories. Despite the fact that his theories date back to the late 1920s, Herbert William Heinrich's theories continue to have an impact on the practice and philosophy of protection today. Friedrich Heinrich's philosophy had a significant impact on both safety practice and safety theory. Heinrich explicitly connects this to the distinctions between causes, injuries, and effects that we have already seen in the series of accidents that he describes. According to him, one should not wait for serious incidents to occur, but should instead respond to what we might refer to as "poor signals" today (Weick & Sutcliffe, 2001).
The most fundamental of all safety management paradigms is accident prevention and it is also the most difficult to implement. When safety management is effective, there should be a reduction in the number of injuries. In the event of an incident, however, it is necessary that robust safety controls are not in place. It is therefore critical to understand how accidents occur in order to develop strategies to prevent them from occurring in the first place.
As noted by Hovden, Albrechtsen and Herrera (2010), accident models have an impact on the way people think about safety, how risk factors are evaluated, and how success can be measured... Their application is flexible, allowing them to be used in both reactive and proactive safety management...
Several models are based on the concept of causality, with accidents being the result of human error, technological faults, or organizational failures.

Normal Accident Theory
According to Saleh et al. (2010), the Normal Accident Theory, which was developed in the aftermath of the Three Mile Island nuclear disaster in the 1980s by Yale sociologist Charles Perrow, accidents are "normal" and should be expected in some systems "characterized by interactive complexity and tight coupling among its components". The theory is based on the principles that people make mistakes and that large-scale accidents are the result of a series of smaller incidents that spiral out of control over time.
The Normal Accident Theory, according to Ruchlin et al. (2004), emphasizes that not all problems can be anticipated, especially in high-risk organizations, it is critical for organizations to focus on minimizing errors rather than completely avoiding them as their primary goal. As stated by Graham (2015) that developing a thorough understanding of the factors that contribute to accidents, as well as developing policies and programmes that address these factors, are crucial in order to improve safety and reduce injuries. As law enforcement expert Gordon Graham points out, this is analogous to the process of risk assessment and what he refers to as the identification of problems that are waiting to be discovered.
Normal Accident Theory, is not easily to transferable or directly applicable to the Marine Customs law enforcement profession in light of the inherent dangers of the profession as well as the uncontrollable variables involved and the likelihood of being injured by a variety of threats, but this concept is an appropriate concept for law enforcement leaders to consider. Improved culture of safety within an organization is dependent on employees' understanding of the possibility of accidents, injuries, or fatalities, as well as their ability to learn from mistakes and close calls. To improve the culture of safety within an organization, policies and programmes that identify risks and hazards while also not unfairly punishing employees are all necessary components of the overall process.
Seafarers have been seriously injured or killed as a result of the destruction of the marine environment's pristine state, according to a study by Hvold (2010). Financial losses resulting from maritime accidents can be recovered through insurance claims, but environmental damage is almost always irreversible and cannot be recovered (International Maritime Organization, 2012).
The European Maritime Safety Agency (2019)

Maritime accidents have devastating consequences for both seafarers and non-seafarers. A recent study
found that seafarers are up to 27.8 times more likely than the general shore-based workforce to die as a result of a work-related fatal injury, based on an average of 14.2 injuries per million working hours reported (Hvold, 2010). The fact that statistics on maritime injuries and accidents, according to some sources, maybe under-reported (Lützhöft, Grech, & Porathe, 2011), these figures are particularly striking.
In light of the high number of reported accidents and incidents at sea, there are a number of possible explanations. When compared to land-based operations, operating in a harsh natural environment is inherently riskier (Bloor, Thomas, & Lane, 2000;Hetherington, Flin, & Mearns, 2006;Roberts & Marlow, 2002, 2005Rodryguez, 2007).

Figure 2. The Marine Casualties and Incidents Related to Various Factors in Maritime Operation
Source: European Maritime Safety Agency (2019)

Research Methodology
The descriptive research method was used for this study. The descriptive approach was chosen for this study. It allowed for a detailed description and understanding of the safety awareness factor of employees at work, as well as an assessment of its success. This approach examined the relationship between workplace safety culture, safety training, employee involvement, and workplace safety awareness, with a specific focus on law enforcement employees working at sea in the Marine Unit of the RMCD.
The Customs Marine Unit of the RMCD was chosen for this research. The RMCD's Customs Marine Unit was selected for this study because it is one of the most important Customs law enforcement divisions in the organization, and it has made significant contributions to the country in the prevention of smuggling activities. The investigation was carried out at the RMCD's Customs Marine

Sampling Design
Bell (1999) describes a sample as a subclass of the population and possesses similar traits as the study's target population. Since the population was too large to be studied as a whole, a portion of the population was earmarked to be studied. The researcher took sufficient care to ensure that the sample chosen was representative of the population. The researcher chose the sample size using the procedure described in subsequent sections. The researcher used Krejcie and Morgan concept to develop an appropriate sample size from a population of 571. Cooper and Schindler (2014) explained that the census method involves obtaining and recording information on the population or sample under study.

Budget and geographical constraints made it impossible to study the Marine Unit of the Royal
Malaysian Customs Department hence a sample was selected using a sampling frame.

Sampling Frame
To facilitate an effective field survey exercise, a sampling frame was utilized to determine the sampling units. Cooper and Schindler (2014) argued that a sampling frame is a list of elements from which the sample is drawn and closely related to the population. The sample are from Marine Unit of the Royal Malaysian Customs Department staff working at headquarters and all 31 stations of Marine Customs in Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak, and Sabah, including the Federal Territory Labuan.

Sampling Technique
The study adopted a non-probability sampling approach to target the most available Marine Unit of

Data Collection
The type of data collection method used in a study is determined by the facilities available, the level of accuracy required for the study's competence, the length of time the study will be conducted, and the availability of other costs and resources required for data collection and analysis (Zaidatun & MohdSalleh, 2003). The data for the study was collected from the sample population using structured questionnaires, which the researcher developed. A questionnaire distribution strategy was chosen because it enables a larger sample size and a more diverse geographic distribution of the model and displays a large amount of data in a relatively short period of time (Williamson, 2000).
The questionnaire covered all variables included in the conceptual framework of this study. The questionnaire was written in English and translated into Malay. The use of the translated version improved the questionnaire's readability for the respondents. It increased the likelihood that the instrument would function in this new target culture in the same way that it had in the original culture where it was developed (Bates & Khasawneh, 2005).
In order to ensure that the questionnaires were properly reviewed, it's were submitted to the Royal

Malaysian Customs Department, Customs Marine Unit Headquarters in Putrajaya. It was reviewed by
Senior Assistants Customs Director II, Customs Superintendent, and a Marine Customs officer with more than five years of experience in the relevant department before being accepted. They were chosen because of their extensive knowledge and expertise in this field and their ability to evaluate the study's relevance.
Each respondent was requested to answer similar set of questions in a pre-set order. The data collected using a questionnaire consisted of 32 items. Questionnaires were distributed to respondents via an online Google form mechanism in 5 days for an answer, and the researcher monitors the progress responses from all respondent.

Findings
Below are table that describes the demography of the study. Department is 1 to 5 years which is 49.7%, followed by a service period 16 years and above, which is 46.5%, and the lowest percentage of services is 6 -10 years which is 11.5%. This indicates that majority of them are in the category of 1-5 years of experience and 16 years or more experience. This showed a good blend of group of experience people combine with junior people. This provides a good training ground for young people in the workforce.

Discussion
The management the Marine Customs Enforcement Unit of the RMCD is also found committed to creating a safe working environment for employees and generated positive employee attitudes toward complying with safety rules and SOPs, and adhering to their challenging working environment.
The best way to increase employee awareness is to disseminate safety policies and regulations on a regular basis; this is done in order to prevent employees from receiving inaccurate information.
There is evidence to suggest a strong relationship between safety culture with the level of safety awareness in the Marine Customs Enforcement Unit of RMCD.

Conclusion
Employee involvement in safety is a behaviour-oriented approach that involves a bottom-up flow of communication and decision-making (Saharani et al., 2017). When it comes to improving safety performance, employee involvement in safety is the key to achieving results. This is a list of significant advantages associated with employee participation in safety and health procedures. Workers' participation in health and safety decision-making provides significant benefits, which actively justify efforts by organizations to promote worker participation in health and safety decision-making.
Employee involvement in safety and health ensures that useful information obtained by lower-level employees is passed up the hierarchy, resulting in improved knowledge distribution and acquisition.
According to Smith (2006), sociologists and behavioural scientists have extensively discussed the motivational effects of employee involvement, particularly in terms of increased commitment and job satisfaction. Furthermore, employee participation in decision-making has the potential to result in a greater level of understanding on the part of the employees involved.
The employee involvement elements include the workers' continued participation as well as their own personal motivation and attitude toward their jobs (Aksorn & Hadikusumo, 2008). According to Aksorn and Hadikusumo (2008)'s research, the degree of employee participation in safety-related programmes or activities, such as participating or taking part in workplace safety activities, reporting and eliminating hazards under their operation, and analyzing regular hazards within each step of a task or process, can increase the level of workers' motivation toward workplace safety. According to the International Chamber of Shipping and the International Shipping Federation (1996), it allows people within the organization to feel more motivated in terms of safety awareness because they actively participate in forming methods that govern the fight for more safe working conditions the maritime industry.
The safety of the workplace has an impact on every employee, and employers have a humanitarian obligation to ensure that some level of input from the workforce is enabled consistently. Employee involvement practices are a method of lowering indirect costs associated with lost time, decreased efficiency, lower quality and quantity of production, absenteeism, high turnover of employees, and increased labour unrest. Employee involvement practices, such as those designed to improve the management of health and safety risks, can benefit a company's economic performance if the benefits gained outweigh the costs associated with putting them in place.