Nine-person probe team has started work, says Wee

PETALING JAYA: Human error is only one of the angles being looked at by the Transport Ministry as investigations into Monday’s LRT collision continues.

“The ministry wishes to address the perception that ‘human error’ has been conclusively determined as a cause of the tragic accident involving two LRT Kelana Jaya trains on May 24.

“This is incorrect. I wish to clarify that ‘human factor’ is merely a single facet in an investigation of this nature, which also takes into consideration an entire range of technical and operational components.

“The nine-person ministerial-level investigative committee headed by secretary-general Datuk Isham Ishak and experts have begun to examine various aspects of the incident, of which the human factor is only one, ” said Transport Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong in a statement yesterday.

“We also wish to remind the people that the hostler (person driving one of the trains in manual mode) involved in the incident had tested negative for drugs by the police, ” said Dr Wee, adding that the hostler must also be given the opportunity to be heard in an inquiry, and that there should not be any premature judgments.

“Safety of the LRT transport system as a vital public resource cannot be compromised. Therefore, finding gaps in safety measures must be paramount. In this task, the investigation committee will also seek the views of external parties whose expertise can assist in compiling the final report, ” he said.

Meanwhile, Transparency International Malaysia (TI-M) is calling for a Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) to be set up.

TI-M president Dr Muhammad Mohan said the probe should be conducted by independent experts, with the findings made public.

“This is to ensure that a thorough investigation is done to find not only the root cause for this crash, but also identify other peripheral issues, including whether there was organisational failure, ” he said in a statement yesterday.

The RCI, he added, should also determine the corrective actions that should be put in place to prevent such an unfortunate incident from happening again, ” he said.

“Malaysians deserve to know what actually happened, who is accountable, is the LRT system safe, were there any shortcuts, abuse or cover ups. These are the questions that need to be answered and presented to the public transparently, ” said Muhammad.