[UPDATED] Where are the ministers? Pakatan’s Fahmi slams inaction on LRT disruption

PETALING JAYA – The caretaker federal government has been slammed for its apparent lack of response to the week-long service disruption at the Kelana Jaya LRT line.

Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) Lembah Pantai candidate Fahmi Fadzil said the caretaker government should have already issued a statement on the matter and that its failure to do so signalled its incompetency in handling a crisis.

“We have not heard a single word from the caretaker transport minister and caretaker finance minister, who is in charge of Prasarana (Malaysia Bhd). The two have not given any explanation.

“If they refuse to respond, they might as well not be ministers after the 15th general election. While the people are suffering, the caretaker ministers are only thinking of themselves and the fate of their political future,” he said during a press conference at the Universiti LRT station here today.

As such, Fahmi said he will meet with e-hailing drivers in Lembah Pantai today to discuss the mechanism for providing free services to the residents.

Meanwhile, PH’s Titiwangsa candidate Khalid Abdul Samad said the coalition is willing to sit down with the relevant ministry to figure out a solution.

“We are willing to sit down and help come up with ideas, if the government calls. If they do not call for a meeting, there is nothing we can do.

“We are pushing them (to take action).”

Khalid said the caretaker government seemed to not take the matter seriously in a time when people needed it the most.

He added that years of advocacy work to encourage the public to utilise public transport has gone to waste.

“All the caretaker government needs to do is hold an emergency meeting to identify what actions to take. The people already bore the brunt of it all at the end of the day.”

Caretaker transport minister Datuk Seri Wee Ka Siong reportedly said Prasarana was not confident of operating the LRT trains manually as that was the second option.

“Although this matter is not fully under my purview, as I am part of the government, I have to apologise to the public,” he was reported as saying by Free Malaysia Today.

He added that the temporary suspension of Kelana Jaya LRT’s 16 stations for a week should not have happened but the safety of commuters cannot be compromised.

In the wee hours of today, operator Rapid Rail Sdn Bhd announced that LRT services for 16 stations between Kelana Jaya and Ampang Park have been shut down for seven days, beginning from today, following two days of service disruption.

The latest development comes following reports of service disruption between the KLCC and Kelana Jaya stations yesterday afternoon and the day before. – The Vibes, November 9, 2022