Malaysia's MRT stations vandalised five days after opening

Just five days after Malaysia’s Mass Rapid Transit system was launched, a few stations have already been vandalised, said a Mass Rapid Transit Corporation (MRT Corp) officer.

According to The Malay Mail Online, MRT Corp strategic communications and stakeholder relations director Datuk Najmuddin Abdullah said he saw “many” scratches on benches and walls, and a broken toilet. Najmuddin also posted photos of the damage in a post that has been widely shared on Facebook since Sunday. “Just now I saw a broom stick… and a spotlight on rooftop of Exit F at Bukit Bintang station. I’m sure those two inanimate things didn’t walk up the roof by themselves,” he wrote.

“We provide a first-class facility, but if the society is not ready with a first-class mentality to embrace it, we are going to waste a lot of money and time unnecessarily to do the repair works,” said Najmuddin.

Launched on 17 July, Prime Minister Najib Razak called the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) Sungai Buloh-Kajang (SBK) Line a “success story”. He also announced that all MRT, LRT and monorail fares will be discounted by 50 per cent until 31 August.

The MRT line was built at a cost of RM21 billion (S$6.7 billion). Najib added that it was a “proud achievement” that the project was completed below the original estimated cost of RM23 billion.

During the second phase of the launch on 17 July, Najib lauded the transport network, saying, “We are better than London, we are better than New York, we are on par with Singapore.”