Social media is rife with calls for Pasir Salak MP Tajuddin Abdul Rahman to be removed from Prasarana, after a faux pas riddled press conference yesterday on the LRT accident.
The hashtags #LetakJawatanTajuddin and #TajuddinLetakJawatan (Resign Tajuddin) is trending on Twitter today, and an online petition calling for him to step down is fast picking up steam.
On Monday night, two LRT trains crashed into each other, resulting in 64 people being rushed to hospital - six of them in critical condition.
While Transport Minister Wee Ka Siong was quick to get on the ground, Tajuddin was only on the site the next day.
Quizzed on his absence, he said the fact that he was determined to go to the site first thing in the morning was proof of how seriously he took the matter, even though his point was lost when he broke into a laugh.
He also explained that he didn't go the night of the incident as he had just completed a meeting and wanted to prepare to get his second dose of the Covid-19 vaccine.
When asked about the situation in the tunnel, Tajuddin told a reporter that it was "normal... only the two cars are together... they kissed each other..." He then appeared to laugh again.
"This guy is an unmitigated disaster," said Klang MP Charles Santiago in a statement today.
"The Prasarana chairperson had the cheek to joke about the collision, smilingly saying one train kissed another.
"This man must be sacked immediately for not just lacking empathy but for failing to do his job," the lawmaker added.
Charles also said the RM1,000 compensation to passengers involved in the crash was "insulting".
The government said preliminary investigations into the LRT collision in the underground tunnel between the KLCC and Kampung Baru stations revealed an element of "negligence" by the driver in manually controlling one of the trains.
The Land Public Transport Agency found that the empty train 'TR240' was moving in the wrong direction and collided with 'TR181' on the same track.
Charles, however, questioned whether this was an attempt to divert responsibility from Prasarana and Tajuddin.
"If it’s true that the driver switched directions, why wasn’t the control centre aware of this?
"Why weren’t any warning given to the passenger train?
"And wasn’t the track circuit, which allows railway signalling systems to operate semi-automatically by displaying signals for trains to slow down or stop in the presence of occupied track ahead of them, working?" he asked.
He said an independent panel had to look into the accident and determine its cause.
At present, a nine-member panel headed by Transport Ministry secretary-general Isham Ishak is investigating the incident. - Mkini
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