MAY 7 — The collision of two KTM trains in Kuala Kubu Bharu was something that was waiting to happen somewhere between Kuala Lumpur and Tanjong Malim.

The cruising speed of the ETS is 140km per hour and it does this on tracks that are good. But on the tracks between KL and Tanjong Malim, it slows down to half this peed at certain stretches. Even at this slow speed, you feel like sitting in a sampan that is rocking on the waves.

Another stretch where the trains slow down to a mere 15 to 20km per hour is the line that branches off to Batu Caves.

The reason is obvious — lack of maintenance of the tracks. It looks like there is no preventive maintenance done to keep the tracks in good shape at all times, but only attended to when they have deteriorated to such a state that the trains actually start to wobble on them from side to side.

The train that went off the tracks might have been travelling a little too fast to remain on the tracks despite the wobbling. I hope no one says it had a punctured tyre that caused it to veer off its course!

The question is, why is there no routine preventive maintenance to keep the tracks in tip-top condition at all times? A friend used to tell of the time when his father had worked in the railways and how the trains used to run on the tracks in those days and how they run off the tracks these days.   

When will this Malaysian culture of acting only after incidents have happened, people have been injured or lives lost, be buried? Just days ago a car fell into a 12 meter deep hole smack in the middle of a road. Miraculously, the occupants escaped with some injuries. Putting a cone before the big hole was considered adequate protection for preventing a vehicle or someone falling into it. Saving money was the reason for putting just a cone there. 

In the early 70’s I saw a car that had fallen on its right side into a large rectangular, 10 foot deep hole in the middle of the then Bayan Lepas main road near the junction of Jalan Tengah.

So, for the past 40 over years, the mentality of the people carrying out works on the roads, and that of the authorities responsible for ensuring proper safety measures are put in place to prevent mishaps, has not changed.

The authorities have to change first and start enforcing the rules and regulations. When accidents happen that could have been prevented with a little forethought and compliance with the rules and regulations, the authorities cannot just dismiss them with a shrug that it was “takdir” (act of God) and not human fault. Their inaction is not takdir either, but dereliction of duty. They should be sacked.

Let us see if any of those responsible for the maintenance of the railway tracks will be sacked for not keeping the trains running on the tracks, but letting them go off the tracks.

* Ravinder Singh reads the Malay Mail Online.

** This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail Online.