PUTRAJAYA: Men who happily board the designated women-only coaches on public transportation will soon have to face the music as laws are being drafted to target offenders.
Transport Minister Anthony Loke said he was aware of the ongoing situation and complaints about male passengers encroaching on female-only coaches.
“We have mobilised more auxiliary police to ensure men don’t trespass the women’s coaches.
“There are such cases, and we will take action from time to time.
“In terms of regulations, we are designing the type of penalty we can impose,” he said during a joint press conference with Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli at the Transport Ministry yesterday.
At present, Loke stated that the presence of auxiliary police at all stations would be beneficial in requesting that male passengers disembark from the women’s coaches.
Meanwhile, when asked, Loke noted that the final report on the plane crash at Bandar Elmina, Shah Alam, last year would be released in a few days.
Taking action: Loke (centre) and Rafizi (second from left) attending the press conference in Putrajaya. With him are (from left) KTMB Group chief executive officer Datuk Mohd Rani Hisham Samsudin, Transport Ministry secretary-general Datuk Jana Santhiran Muniayan and Railway Assets Corporation chief executive officer Datuk Azhar Ahmad. — Bernama
“The report will be issued in the next couple of days, before the one-year anniversary,” he said.
On Aug 17 last year, 10 people were killed after the aircraft crashed near the township in Selangor.
According to the preliminary report released last year, investigations of the Beechcraft Model 390 Premier 1 crash found no evidence of incapacitation or physiological factors that affected the flight crew’s performance.
All eight onboard were killed, including Pahang state exco Datuk Seri Johari Harun.
The impact of the plane crash also killed an ehailing driver and a delivery rider on the highway.
Meanwhile, Loke announced a plan to lease 62 new passenger train sets from China for RM10.7bil, with the addition of the trains by 2027.
He said the leasing deal is part of the first phase of a government-to-government (G2G) initiative, and the cost would be covered in instalments over a 30-year lease period.
The new leasing arrangement with China’s CRRC – a leading railway manufacturer with a presence in Malaysia – will help upgrade the KTMB rail network and prevent further deterioration of service quality, he added.
“The 62 new passenger train sets in Phase One will consist of 36 three-car set (3CS) electric multiple unit (EMU) sets, 12 six-car set (6CS) EMU sets, and 14 6CS diesel multiple unit (DMU) sets.
“The actual cost will be finalised after the completion of negotiations with the Chinese government soon,” he said.
Loke noted that the lease would cover all maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) by the train supplier.
“The Malaysian government will hold the majority share of 51% in the CRRC rolling stock centre in Batu Gajah (Perak) or an entity agreed upon between the two governments.
“The supplier company must fulfil at least a 40% local content requirement, as well as commit to technology transfer and involvement of local manpower,” he said.
The initiative, he added, was aimed at addressing the current challenges of train availability and reliability, especially for the Electric Train Service (ETS) and KTM commuter services, as only 68 reliable train sets are currently in operation.
“We are not paying RM10.7bil in one go; it’s over 30 years.
“The lease model enables us to plan our cash flow. It’s spread out, coming to about over RM300mil every year over 30 years.
“This is expected to increase track utilisation from the current 30% to 45% by 2027.”
Loke said Malaysia currently has insufficient train sets to meet the growing demand, especially for the popular ETS services.
The government, he said, aims to operate 299 passenger trains nationwide by 2030 to address these challenges and provide reliable, high-quality public transportation.
Meanwhile, Rafizi said that currently, 70% of the total passenger rail capacity in Peninsular Malaysia is underutilised, with only 68 passenger trains operating nationwide.
