KUALA LUMPUR, May 6 — The Ministry of Transport (MOT) has issued a reprimand to the staff and officers of Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB) today over the recent viral video of a densely-packed train carriage.
Minister Datuk Seri Wee Ka Siong said that KTMB has given its assurances that it will enact stricter crowd control measures, including limiting the number of passengers at the gate prior to the platforms to board trains.
“It is much regretted that all passengers from the journey’s original six-car train, which had adhered to the 50 per cent load factor under the Health Ministry’s standard operating procedures during the movement control order (MCO), were ushered into a three-car replacement train deployed to relieve the faulty train,” he said in a statement.
Wee said both the ministry and KTMB are apologising to the public, reminding them to be mindful of the Ministry of Health’s public health guidelines during the MCO including always practising safe distancing of at least one metre and wearing face masks before boarding rail and train services
The 10-second video went viral on social media, prompting KTMB’s strategic communications head Ahmad Asri Khalbi to explain that the incident was a one-off matter which would not occur again.
Earlier, KTMB had to go on record to deny claims that social distancing measures were not being enforced on its train services, after the video came under heavy criticism on social media for being a potential risk in spreading Covid-19.
