Chan Kong Choy views LRT problems very seriously (Oct 2006), but too busy to read report

The findings on the three light rail transit (LRT) train incidents in the past three months will be made public.  

The Railway Department and an independent engineer are investigating the incidents. 

…

He said this was decided at his meeting with the department here yesterday.  

On Aug 23, about 5,000 Putra LRT commuters were stranded for one hour at the Masjid Jamek station when water seeped onto the main train. 

On Oct 6, the track between Gombak and Ampang was closed for 10 hours when an LRT train stalled between the Datuk Keramat and Damai stations, leaving hundreds of commuters stranded. 

In the latest incident on Friday, a Star LRT coach overshot the track at about 7am at the Sentul Timur station stabling area, forcing the track to be closed for more than 20 minutes.  

Two heavy-duty cranes were used to pull it back up.  

There were no passengers onboard but the incident caused part of a coach to dangle precariously 25m above ground. 

Chan said he would make public the findings involving this and the other two incidents. 

“We will not hide anything. I am not happy that three train incidents had occurred within three months,” Chan, who is also Selayang MP, told reporters after opening the Desa Kuala Garing housing project for 124 former squatter families here.  

“We have to investigate down to the root as to why the incidents occurred over such a short time. 

“We view this very seriously and if someone is found to be responsible, action will be taken according to the Railway Act 1991.”  

Chan said he had received a preliminary report on Friday’s LRT incident but had yet to look at it as he had been inspecting the Rawang-Ipoh double-tracking project. 

“A thorough investigation will be conducted on the system, especially on the safety aspect. We will take into account the report’s findings and suggestions when we start the LRT extension plan, which will go on as planned,” he added.  

Chan said people should not jump to conclusions or speculate on what caused the latest incident or blame it on the train driver or a technical error. 

“The driver has been suspended pending the findings, which is standard procedure. It is not fair to speculate whether or not he was responsible,” he added.  

Source: The Star

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Najib outlines Six Approaches For Farmers To Be Competitive

Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Najib Tun Razak has outlined six approaches for adoption by the farmers if they were to continue to progress and become competitive in agriculture.
He said the six approaches must be applied immediately by the farmers as agriculture had become the third biggest contributor to the national economy after manufacturing and services.
1. The farmers must put in a lot of effort to improve their farm because lucrative income could not be achieved if one were to work at a leisurely pace, he said.
2. “The second approach is the use of new and modern agriculture technology to raise output as well as to secure a better market,” he said.
Najib said this in his speech at the opening of the 29th Annual General Meeting of the Pekan Farmers Area Organisation (PPK) and launch of the Sub-Sector Based Agriculture Cooperatives, here today.
3. Najib said the third approach was that farmers must strive to adopt the best practices which could be used as a guide to become successful and model farmers.
“We must adopt the best practice such as using modern methods because the `plant and harvest’ attitude is no longer suitable in churning out modern farmers,” he said.
4. He said the farmers must also raise added value for their products as suggested by the Prime Minister so that their income could also be raised.
5. “We must also look for markets that can ensure better prices. I want to see our farmers using information and communications technology (ICT) when carrying out their farm activities very soon,” he said.
Najib, who is also the member of parliament for Pekan, said that by using ICT, the farmers, suppliers and buyers could carry out their transactions faster without depending on other parties, besides securing better prices.

Source: Bernama

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Najib’s other bright ideas:

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Chan Kong Choy wants to implement refresher course for commercial vehicle drivers immediately

Commercial vehicle drivers must attend mandatory refresher courses annually, Transport Minister Datuk Seri Chan Kong Choy said. 

“I want this to be implemented immediately,” he told reporters after visiting survivors of the Super Express bus crash at the hospital here.

Source: The Star

Read:

Chan Kong Choy and Port Klang Free Zone, a MYR4 billion white elephant ?

Chan Kong Choy: we will improve system so that it is more efficient

We are still waiting for Chan Kong Choy’s report on LRT problems (promised on 31 Oct 2006)

Chan Kong Choy: we will improve system so that it is more efficient

The Transport Ministry has admitted there are weaknesses in the demerit points penalty system that allows drivers to escape amassing “negative points” if they do not settle their summonses. 

Minister Datuk Seri Chan Kong Choy said the demerit points system, or Kejara, was currently the weakest link in terms of enforcement. 

“We are looking into it seriously and efforts will be made to improve the system so that it is more efficient,” he said yesterday, in reference to why the bus driver involved in the Taiping bus accident was still allowed on the road even though he had 13 outstanding summonses. 

Source: The Star

Read:

Chan Kong Choy and Port Klang Free Zone, a MYR4 billion white elephant ?

We are still waiting for Chan Kong Choy’s report on LRT problems (promised on 31 Oct 2006)

We are still waiting for Chan Kong Choy’s report on LRT problems (promised on 31 Oct 2006)