Since the launch of MRT Kajang Line’s women-only coaches, it has received positive feedback, despite occasional instances of men being on the coach, based on our observations.
To further enhance female passengers’ safety on the MRT, the Minister of Transport, Anthony Loke Siew Fook, announced that the women-only carriage initiative would be expanded to include the MRT Putrajaya Line starting from April this year.
On 18 September last year, Malaysia introduced measures for women-only carriages in the Kuala Lumpur metro system. Rapid KL provided women-only carriages at every station and on every train of the MRT Kajang Line.
The women-only carriages, situated in the middle of the trains, are conspicuously marked with pink stickers. This allows female passengers to easily identify them from the metro station platforms, the carriage doors, and within the trains themselves.
Malaysia aims to ensure the safety of female passengers through this measure. It is hoped that this will allow them to feel more secure and comfortable when using public transportation systems.
This initiative is particularly valued during the peak hours of commuting to and from work, mitigating concerns of physical contact due to crowded carriages.
According to Sin Chew Daily, the expansion plan was announced in a statement yesterday in response to a question from Dato’ Seri Wan Azizah, the Member of Parliament for Bandar Tun Razak from the People’s Justice Party, in the House of Representatives.
Anthony Loke stated that since the implementation of the women-only carriages in September last year, there has been a positive impact on the safety of female passengers, notably reducing the cases of sexual harassment complaints.
He addressed when the Ministry of Transport will extend the plan to the second phase of the MRT Putrajaya-Kwasa Damansara Line, especially during peak hours.
Statistics in Malaysia show that last year there were 32 cases of sexual harassment complaints on the MRT, with 8 in the first quarter, 11 in the second, 8 in the third, and 5 in the fourth quarter. However, since January this year, there have been no cases of sexual harassment complaints.
While Malaysia’s women-only carriage initiative is well-intentioned, currently, there are no penalties for male passengers who accidentally enter these carriages.
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