FORMER transport minister Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong has rebuked a DAP MP over her remarks related to a lawsuit filed by a victim of the Kelana Jaya light rail transit (LRT) line collision in 2021.
In response to Seputeh MP Teresa Kok’s question on why he did not offer the “humane thing” to the LRT crash victims when he was the transport minister, Wee pointed out that the system owner and operator of the rail system are in fact companies under the purview of the Finance Ministry.
“I have already mentioned that the system’s owner, Prasarana Malaysia Bhd and the operator, Rapid Rail Sdn Bhd are the Minister of Finance (Incorporated) companies under the Finance Ministry and in terms of their finances, the latter has the full jurisdiction,” he said in a Facebook post on Thursday (May 16).
“Do you understand? The function of the Transport Ministry is just as a regulator for train operation.
“I am only speaking up for the LRT crash victim but yet I am being attacked by a DAP leader.”
Yesterday, Wee urged the government to “do the humane thing” and settle a suit filed in December last year by Florence Lee, who suffered several injuries in the LRT collision.
Lee, who claimed that the crash was due to Prasarana and Rapid Rail’s negligence and breaches of statutory duty, is seeking RM113,524.08 in special damages.
The May 2021 train collision on the Kelana Jaya line left 213 injured, with 47 of them seriously wounded.
The Kelana Jaya LRT collision occurred at about 8.45pm in a tunnel between the KLCC LRT station and Kampung Baru LRT station. It resulted in 260 people injured, including 47 with serious injuries.
“No longer transport minister”
Wee went on to clarify that when the LRT collision occurred on May 24, 2021, he had rushed to the scene to offer help to the victim.
He said there were about 18 months between the incident and his last day as transport minister on Nov 19, 2022, and Lee had yet to complete her loss assessment.
“During my tenure as the transport minister, Lee had yet to file her summon in court and it was only filed in December 2023, when the Madani government took power,” he explained in a rebuttal statement to Kok’s statement on Thursday (May 16) morning.
“In December 2023, I was no longer the minister. At this point (today), it has been 18 months since the Madani government came into power.”
The MCA lawmaker further questioned why the Seputeh MP was coming after him on the matter.
“Teresa, have I questioned the current Transport Minister (Anthony Loke Siew Fook) on this issue? I did not mention him at all. You can check my statement yesterday. Why are you so eager to defend your party’s boss?” he asked.
In response to Wee’s statement yesterday, Prasarana said a total of 90 passengers involved in the accident have received financial assistance and several claims have been resolved.
In a statement, it said it had reached out to all the passengers involved, offering special financial assistance and counselling, with the financial assistance including, among others, medical expenses and follow-up treatment for all passengers involved. – May 16, 2024
