PETALING JAYA: KTM Bhd (KTMB) has expressed its regret over an incident on KTM Komuter in which an elderly woman was harassed by a group of young men after she told them that they should not be in the women’s coach.
“Referring to the post by Sheahnee Iman Lee on Facebook on Monday, we would like to express our deepest sympathies to her mother who was travelling from Bukit Badak station to Shah Alam station,” said KTMB in a statement yesterday.
In a Facebook post, Lee said her 72-year-old mother was harassed and insulted by a group of young men on Saturday.
In her post, Lee said the group berated her mother, a Caucasian who has lived in Malaysia for 50 years, after she pointed out that they should not be in the women’s coach.
“My mother, a schoolteacher for 40 years, spoke up and reminded the boys they were in the women’s coach.
“But what did these boys do? They threateningly and rudely responded ‘We are Malaysian!’ and ‘This is MY country!,’ took videos of her and then got more of their rowdy friends to fill up the coach, much to the worry of my mum and a few other ladies there,” she wrote on Facebook.
According to KTMB, its customer service unit has already reached out to Lee.
It suggested that passengers could also seek assistance by using the intercom button or contacting KTMB’s auxiliary police at 03-22631194 in any emergency.
KTMB also said it is committed to addressing the issue by deploying an auxiliary police officer and staff to conduct regular patrols on trains from time to time, and to advise customers on the appropriate use of the women’s coach.
“KTMB is involved in ongoing discussions with the Land Public Transport Agency to work on legislation, in addition to enforcement operations and awareness campaigns.
“Other than constant surveillance, we would like to call on the public to assist us in reminding each other for the benefit of all passengers,” it added.
