KUALA LUMPUR, July 2 — The government is finalising amendments to relevant laws to impose stricter action against trespassing, vandalism and theft involving railway assets, the Dewan Rakyat was told today.

Deputy Transport Minister Datuk Hasbi Habibollah said the amendments would, among other things, introduce harsher punishments for cable theft offenders and are expected to be tabled in Parliament later this year.

“Many things need to be amended because the current laws are too weak. Imagine, trespassing is punishable by RM500 to RM1,000 only. Cable theft involving security issues will be subject to heavy penalties,” he said during an oral question and answer session at the Dewan Rakyat today.

He was responding to a supplementary question from Datuk Wira Dr Ku Abdul Rahman Ku Ismail (PN-Kubang Pasu) regarding action taken to crack down on railway cable theft and the number of theft incidents that have occurred in the past three years.

Hasbi said 393 incidents of cable theft were recorded in the past three years involving 19,756 metres of cable with an estimated loss of RM16.3 million.

To curb the crime, he said strategic cooperation with the Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM) was being strengthened, including efforts to approach scrap metal operators and dealers to ensure they do not buy stolen goods.

“This approach is important to break the market chain for stolen goods and reduce incentives for criminals,” he said.

He said various initiatives were also being implemented, such as the installation of 1,146 units of smart closed-circuit television (CCTV) systems based on artificial intelligence in high-risk locations by the Railway Assets Corporation (RAC) at a cost of RM14 million.

In addition, the use of drones was also introduced to strengthen aerial monitoring in hotspot areas that were difficult to access through normal patrols.

Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad also received approval to acquire 20 units of scrambler motorcycles for the Auxiliary Police to enhance patrols, speed up incident response and strengthen enforcement presence in risky rail areas. — Bernama