PADANG BESAR: The government is examining effective methods, including the use of monitoring technology, to address the widespread theft of railway cables, says Anthony Loke.
The Transport Minister said they are looking into the use of technology to detect and prevent cable theft as this is a major issue, particularly in the northern region.
"It cannot be viewed as normal theft… this is a national security issue because the cable theft has caused significant disruptions to services and poses a danger to the public," he said at a press conference after the inauguration ceremony of the Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin Free Trade Zone-Perlis Inland Port (PIP) here on Saturday (May 30), officiated by the Raja of Perlis, Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin Jamalullail.
Also attending the event was the Regent of Perlis, Tuanku Syed Faizuddin Putra Jamalullail.
Loke said his ministry is also in discussions with the Home Ministry about tightening laws as despite action taken in such cases, cable theft remains rampant.
He said this has become a major challenge for the ministry as the high price of copper is believed to be driving cable theft.
Additionally, he said the national railroad network spanning approximately 1,000km ameks monitoring difficult.
"So monitoring every kilometre is difficult because there are areas that are remote and this makes it easier for them (cable thieves) to access rail tracks," he said.
Loke said that his team is also examining the practices in other countries to address the issue.
"Cable theft is not unique to Malaysia – all countries with a rail system face the same problem and there are countries that may have better solutions," he said. – Bernama
