PADANG BESAR, May 30 — The government is examining effective methods, including the use of monitoring technology, to address the widespread theft of railway cables that is disrupting the operations of the national railroad service.
Transport Minister Anthony Loke said his ministry is looking into the use of technology to detect and prevent cable theft activities from recurring, as these thefts are a major issue for the service, particularly in the northern region.
“It cannot be seen as normal theft cases because they disrupt our services and can even affect public safety.
“This is a national security and state security issue because the theft of these cables has caused significant disruptions to our services and poses a danger to the public,” he said.
Loke said this at a press conference after the inauguration ceremony of the Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin Free Trade Zone-Perlis Inland Port (PIP) here today, officiated by the Raja of Perlis, Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin Jamalullail.
Also attending the event was the Regent of Perlis, Tuanku Syed Faizuddin Putra Jamalullail.
Loke said his ministry is also discussing with the Home Ministry (KDN) about tightening the laws against cable theft because, despite actions being taken regarding these cases, they are still rampant.
He said that the cases of cable theft have become a major challenge for his ministry, considering that the high price of copper is believed to be driving such activities, in addition to the national railroad network spanning approximately 1,000 kilometres, making monitoring difficult.
“So monitoring every kilometre, every area is indeed difficult because there are areas that are quite remote and this makes it easier for them to access our tracks,” he said.
Loke said that his team is also examining the practices and appropriate solutions used by other countries to address the same issue, considering that cable theft cases also occur in countries with rail systems.
“The case of cable theft is not unique to Malaysia; all countries with a rail system face the same problem, and indeed, there are countries that may already have better solutions. We are trying to see what solutions have been implemented by other countries,” he added. — Bernama
Date: 30 May, 2026 5:00 pm
Source: Malay Mail
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