Govt to ensure zero repeat of incidents like LRT crash, says PM

The government will be responsible for ensuring that incidents such as the LRT train collision do not happen again, says Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin.

Speaking to Bernama, he said the government took a serious view of the incident involving two LRT trains which collided on Monday and would ensure that a thorough investigation is carried out to uncover the cause of the accident.

“The issue of the collision has already reached the level of the special task force that was formed to investigate the cause and effect of how it could have happened.

“For more than 20 years, we never heard of an LRT collision, but because it has happened we feel sad and we want to investigate. In a short time, we should know what happened,” he said after visiting the accident victims and their families at Hospital Kuala Lumpur today.

In the 8.45pm incident, 47 passengers were seriously injured while 166 suffered minor injuries when a train carrying passengers and a faulty train that was being test-driven collided in a tunnel between the Kampung Baru and KLCC stations.

Muhyiddin said he had directed Transport Minister Wee Ka Siong to immediately restore LRT services, especially at the accident area, and to ride on the LRT himself to ensure its safety.

“If everything is settled and there is no more danger, he (Wee) said that in the next few days it (the LRT services) will be back in operation,” he said, urging the public to be patient if they face difficulties using the LRT services in the wake of the accident.

The prime minister said three victims are still being treated in the ICU while two more are being monitored in a normal ward.

He said the doctors’ reports showed that all victims were stable, with those in the normal ward set to be discharged soon.

“Those in the ICU will take a little more time to recover and to be discharged. I pray that all of them will recover soon and return to their families as well as be able to continue with their duties and responsibilities,” he said.

Earlier, he visited the crash victims before meeting the family members of the two victims in the ICU. He also received a briefing from Hospital Kuala Lumpur director Dr Heric Corray and Health Minister Dr Adham Baba.

Muhyiddin, who spent about six minutes speaking to the families of the victims, expressed his sadness and gave them words of encouragement.

“The doctors are always there and will take care (of them) 24 hours… (I) pray that they will recover soon and be healthy again,” he said.