AYER HITAM: Despite the gruelling demands of campaigning in a general election while monitoring a major disruption to the Kelana Jaya LRT, Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong is determined to ensure that both get the rightful attention.
The Transport Minister said ongoing campaigning would not distract him from keeping an eye on the Kelana Jaya LRT signalling problem.
Dr Wee, who is incumbent Ayer Hitam MP in Johor, is vying for his fifth term in the 15th General Election.
He has been spending the bulk of the past few days in the capital city to tend to the LRT situation before heading to the parliamentary constituency at night to engage voters.
“I am constantly in touch with my team in Kuala Lumpur besides receiving consistent updates.
“The tests of the Automatic Train Control (ATC) system by Rapid Rail had run from 11pm Friday to 5am the next day, monitored by the Land Public Transport Agency.
“The main aim of these tests is to ensure the stability and safety of the system prior to commencing full operations,” he told the media here yesterday.
The Rapid Rail team ran 24 sets of trains throughout the entire length of the 37-station line, he added.
Yesterday’s session tested all 38 train sets on the line with a five-minute headway between each train.
With the stability of the signalling and communications within the system at a healthy level, he is optimistic that Rapid Rail is well on the way to restore full services with 38 to 40 trains on the line “very soon”, though he stopped short of giving an exact timeline.
Dr Wee also said since yesterday was a full day of test runs, he was able to participate in around 20 campaign stops in Ayer Hitam.
After meeting voters at the Keluarga Malaysia sales at a supermarket, he said Ayer Hitam is one of the country’s top producers of fresh chickens and eggs.
As such, the supply and prices of the items in the area have always remained steady.
“There are more than 120 big and small companies in the constituency producing broilers and eggs for the local market as well as for export.
“Ayer Hitam alone caters to about 15% and 5% of the nation’s eggs and broilers, respectively,” he added.