LETTER | We are writing this open letter to the transport minister and Rapid Rail with deep concern following the tragic Feb 22 incident at Titiwangsa Light Rail Transit (LRT) Station after an elderly visually impaired man lost his life when he fell onto the railway tracks and struck by a train.

This heartbreaking and preventable incident underscores the urgent need for improved safety measures across our existing and upcoming rail transit systems.

Public transportation should be safe and accessible for everyone, including the elderly, children and disabled persons.

While Malaysia has made significant strides in developing its rail infrastructure, urgent action must be taken to address glaring safety gaps to prevent such incidents from recurring.

Suhakam conducted an awareness programme on public transport accessibility from Medan Tuanku Monorail Station to Titiwangsa MRT on Feb 23, 2024.

Despite Suhakam’s efforts to highlight disability-inclusive public transport accessibility and safety, this tragedy still occurred.

How does this inspire the confidence of the public?

Eight measures

We urge Transport Minister Anthony Loke, and Rapid Rail management to implement these eight measures immediately.

1. Install platform screen doors (PSD) at all existing and new rail stations. Many modern rail systems worldwide, including those in neighbouring countries like Singapore, have adopted PSDs to prevent falls onto tracks.

2. Enhance tactile flooring and audible alerts. Enhance tactile paving as one of a range of platform safety measures to help guide passengers who include but are not limited to the following: visually impaired passengers, passengers with dementia, senior citizens in general, anyone who has cognitive issues, and children.

Additionally, improve the regular and timely provision of clear audio announcements and warning signals to alert passengers about approaching trains.

3. Increase station staff and improve assistance services. Ensure more trained personnel are in place at key areas, throughout operating hours, to assist passengers with needs, ensuring they can safely navigate stations and use rail services without injury and loss of life.

4. Develop standard operating procedures (SOPs), with enforcement action. Establish clear and structured SOPs with enforcement, to ensure uniform safety protocol and passenger assistance across all rail stations.

Include in these SOPs detailed guidelines on passenger assistance, emergency response measures, and station management during peak and non-peak hours.

Conduct regular drills and reviews, followed by corrective action as required, to keep staff updated on good practices, ensuring a proactive approach to passenger safety and comfort.

5. Enhance comprehensive training for all personnel. Ensure that training is conducted regularly for all station and rail personnel on appropriate means of assistance for passengers with diverse needs, including blind persons, wheelchair users, persons with invisible disabilities eg persons with dementia, and persons with cognitive issues, senior citizens and children.

This includes guiding/assistance techniques, effective communication, and emergency response procedures to ensure that all passengers receive the support they need while using the rail system.

The training, monitoring and evaluation must be conducted in collaboration with the relevant stakeholders, including disabled peoples’ organisations (DPOs), as well as organisations concerned with the wellbeing of senior citizens, persons living with dementia, and children’s safety, to ensure effective enforcement and implementation.

6. Install advanced surveillance and emergency response systems. Strengthen the life-saving and injury-prevention scope of CCTV monitoring and AI-powered detection in Malaysia’s rail system and networks, to identify potential safety hazards in real time, enabling rapid response and timely intervention.

7. Conduct public awareness campaigns. Continuously pursue public awareness efforts, to educate passengers about station safety protocols, including special provisions for persons with diverse disabilities (visible and invisible), senior citizens, and children.

8. Reduce platform-trains gaps. Many wheelchair users struggle with the wide gap and height differences between train carriages and station platforms. Implement gap fillers, ramp systems, and better-aligned platform heights to significantly improve accessibility and safety for wheelchair users and passengers with mobility, cognitive and psychosocial support needs.

Make sure safety part of blueprint

As Penang and other states embark on constructing new LRT systems, we strongly urge the planners and developers to integrate these safety measures from the planning and blueprint stage.

Designing an inclusive and secure public transport network will not only prevent tragedies, but also enhance public confidence in Malaysia’s rail system and networks.

The loss of life due to preventable circumstances is unacceptable. We sincerely hope that this incident serves as a wake-up call for authorities to take proactive measures in ensuring safer public transportation for all passengers.

Importantly, for Malaysia, such incidents entail serious reputation damage with economic consequences.

We appreciate your urgent attention to this matter and look forward to seeing decisive action.

The letter is issued by:

Christine Lee, disabled person and advocate for Barrier-free Environment and Accessible Transport (Beat).

Murugeswaran Veerasamy, Damai Disabled Person Association Malaysia president.

Muhamad Nadhir Abdul Nasir, presidential council member, communication chair, Advocacy and Human Rights Committee, for the Society of the Blind in Malaysia.

This letter is endorsed by the following.

Civil society organisations:-

1. Damai Disabled Person Association Malaysia
2. Society of the Blind in Malaysia
3. Malaysian Council for Rehabilitation
4. Selangor Cheshire Home
5. Persatuan Mobiliti Selangor dan Kuala Lumpur
6. Association of Women with Disabilities Malaysia
7. Asia Pacific Network on Accessible Tourism
8. Malaysian Spinal Cord Injury Advocacy Association
9. Beautiful Gate Foundation for the Disabled
10. Persatuan WeCareJourney
11. Persatuan Kebajikan Masyarakat Permata Warga Istimewa Malaysia
12. Malaysia HinduDharna Maamandram
13. Dual Blessing Bhd
14. Pertubuhan Advokasi dan Kesejahteraan Pekak Malaysia
15. Pertubuhan Kebangsaan Bahasa Isyarat Malaysia dan Pengajian Pekak
16. Malaysia Independent Living Association For Disabled
17. Pertubuhan Orang Cacat Cina Malaysia
18. Intellectual Disability Association Malaysia

Individuals:-

1. Yuenwah San, disability justice, and dementia care advocate.
2. Dr Amar-Singh HSS, consultant paediatrician; child-disability activist; OKU Rights Matter Project member; National Early Childhood Intervention Council adviser.
3. Anit Kaur Randhawa, parent advocate; OKU Rights Matter Project member; Bar Council Ad hoc Committee on PWDs co-chair; and Kita Family podcaster.
4. Bathmavathi Krishnan (wheelchair user), former senator.
5. Dr Anthony Chong, deaf individual; advocate; deaf mental health researcher, Monash University Malaysia.
6. Sam Wong, disabled person and Beat advocate.
7. Shawn Sharif, patient advocate.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.