Regulations needed to stop abuse of the ladies' train coach

KUALA LUMPUR: For the past eight years, Keretapi Tanah Melayu Bhd (KTMB) has provided a pink coach specifically for women passengers on its commuter train service, but it appears to not be meeting its objectives.
The special coach, which promised better security for women passengers, has frequently been intruded by male passengers and there are cases of sexual harassment and quarrels between male and female passengers on the train.
In this regard, the Malaysian Women Unity Association (Perwim) urged the government to formulate special legislation to enable actions to be taken against men who abused the use of the coach.
Its chairman, Ema Syuhaili Datuk Sukor, said regulations were important to ensure that men adhered to the law and to prevent women passengers from being harassed by irresponsible men.
"There were many such cases faced by women passengers and the problem continued as there was no legal action. The authorities should not take the matter lightly," she told Bernama.
Ema Syuhaili also proposed that KTMB put up more emergency bells in the pink coach to enable faster assistance if an untoward incident occurs.

She said Perwim was also prepared to cooperate with KTMB to hold an awareness campaign to educate members of the public on the ethics of using the special coach.
In this regard, Deputy Transport Minister Datuk Ab Aziz Kaprawi said the government was now formulating a legislative amendment to enable actions to be taken against men who entered the women coach.
"For the time being, there are no regulations to enable actions to be taken. Nonetheless, KTMB will continue to monitor the coach randomly at Komuter stations," he told Bernama via WhatsApp.
Crime analyst Kamal Affandi Hashim said male passengers who entered the pink coach should be made aware and feel ashamed of their conduct.
"The problem relates to the moral principle of a man. Men should advise and warn other males passengers from abusing the coach.
"Even though there are no laws, men should be aware that the women coach was set up to prevent criminal activities such as snatch thefts and sexual harassment in an overcrowded train," he said.
Apart from monitoring by the authorities, Kamal Affandi said men should play their roles to curb the problem and reduce criminal activities on public transport.
In a recent statement, KTMB said it was reviewing the operating procedures of the pink coach to ensure that only women used women's coach.
Meanwhile, a Bernama survey found that men were still travelling in women's coach without any feelings of guilt or shame and were seen violating the regulations, even though there are many notices inside and outside the coach.
Women passengers were generally unhappy with the intrusion of male passengers in the pink coach.
Universiti Teknologi Mara Perlis graduate, Nur Azreen Mohd Abdul Jalil, 23, wanted the authorities to look into the matter seriously to safeguard women travelling by train.
And Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia student Wan Nur Hidayah Zahari, 21, hoped KTM security personnel would be posted outside the coach to prevent men from entering the pink coach. — Bernama