Negligence blamed for LRT crash - Malaysiakini

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Key Highlights

• Negligence blamed for LRT crash
• Prasarana head defiant
• Athletes and sexual harassment

Negligence blamed for LRT crash

Preliminary findings attributed Monday night’s LRT collision in Kuala Lumpur to a negligent driver.

The driver had driven an out-of-service train in the wrong direction, leading to a collision with another autonomously driven train with 213 passengers.

An ex-transport ministry official said the incident cannot be pinned on one person as there could be a systemic failure.

He said the system should have prevented trains from going in the opposite direction if it was working properly.

Victims said the impact from the collision caused them to be flung in the carriages. Most were taken to Kuala Lumpur Hospital.

Of the injured, six were in the intensive care unit (ICU) with three suffering bleeding in the brain.

This coincided with ICUs already under strain due to Covid-19 but Health Minister Adham Baba assured it has not affected the treatment of Covid-19 patients.

It also coincided with the revision of MCO 3.0 coming into force where public transportation may only operate at half capacity.

The new rule and reduced frequency from the accident led to chaotic scenes on Tuesday morning as LRT stations became crowded, undermining precautions against Covid-19.

Prasarana Malaysia Bhd, which owns and operates the rail line, said it will compensate each passenger RM1,000 and cover all medical and treatment cost.

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Prasarana head defiant

While Transport Minister Wee Ka Siong was on the scene as soon as the LRT collision happened on Monday night, Prasarana chairperson Tajuddin Abdul Rahman was absent.

Tajuddin, who is also Umno’s Pasir Salak MP, only visited the site on Tuesday morning.

Tajuddin’s reasons: He found out late. He just finished a meeting. He had to prepare for his second dose of Covid-19 vaccination. His determination to visit the site “first thing in the morning” showed he took the incident seriously.

He lashed out at calls for his resignation, telling journalists not to “provoke” him.

Tajuddin was among a slew of politicians appointed to fill positions in government-linked companies (GLCs) as Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin sought to consolidate his position.

Tajuddin replaced retired Chief Justice of Malaya Zaharah Ibrahim who was appointed as the Prasarana chairperson under the previous Pakatan Harapan government.

Another political appointee, PAS’ Pasir Mas MP Ahmad Fadhli Shaari, also came under the spotlight.

This was after Ahmad Fadhli said he disagreed with appointing politicians to GLCs even though he accepted his appointment to the Skills Development Fund Corporation.

He attributed this to the prime minister’s “absolute power” which he said needed to be fixed.

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Athletes and sexual harassment

Swimming athletes who spoke to Malaysiakini revealed they face sexual harassment from coaches and politicians.

Deputy Youth and Sports Minister Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal promised to investigate the matter.

Women athletes have faced a hard time despite their contributions to the country – from lewd social media comments about their appearance to the authorities focusing on their attire instead of their achievements.

In 2017, a coach for the national diving team was charged with raping a diver from the backup squad. However, he was later acquitted.

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A daily glance at Covid-19

• 7,289 new cases yesterday (May 25), another record high.
• The youngest death yesterday was a three-year-old girl who had a prior illness. A total of 60 people died, one shy of the record high.
• The national infectivity rate is elevated, at 1.20 as of May 24. That means for every 100 people, they infect 120 other people. The infectivity rate for Malacca, Putrajaya, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, Perak, Perlis, Terengganu and Labuan are also above the national average.
• For trends on daily cases, tests, hospital beds capacity, vaccination progress and more, follow our Covid-19 tracker.

What else is happening?

• Ex-finance minister Lim Guan Eng was awarded RM600,000 in damages over a defamation suit against blogger Raja Petra Kamaruddin, who is in a self-imposed exile in the UK.
• The government agreed to provide RM20,000 to all MPs, including opposition ones, to help promote Covid-19 vaccination.
• The second round of registration for the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine will be opened to the general public starting at 12pm today.
• The government has yet to acknowledge the authenticity of claims that medical personnel mistakenly administered lower than required Covid-19 vaccine doses although it had announced improved standard operating procedures after such complaints.
• The Yang Di-Pertuan Agong advised the Sarawak cabinet to continue serving despite the expiry of the state assembly on June 6. Elections do not need to be called while the country is under an emergency.

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