PETALING JAYA – What started as cable theft has now turned into a serious safety threat.
Prasarana Malaysia Bhd s facing an increasingly bold and dangerous cable theft syndicate, with suspects reportedly armed with pistols and machetes while carrying out crimes along train routes.
The syndicate, believed to be led by locals, became highly active in the fourth quarter of last year, driven by a sharp surge in copper and metal prices. Copper prices reportedly jumped to around RM27 per kilogram, compared to RM16 previously, making train cables a lucrative target.
Prasarana Group President and Chief Executive Officer Amir Hamdan said the criminals operate by climbing elevated track structures, staying overnight at the locations and cutting high-voltage live cables before selling them to scrap dealers.
“These syndicates are extremely dangerous. Based on feedback from our auxiliary police, suspects have been seen carrying pistols and machetes. This directly threatens the lives and safety of Prasarana staff,” he told Sinar Harian.
So far, 13 suspects linked to 10 cases have been arrested, with various items seized. Amir said many of those involved are repeat offenders.
Over the past five years, cable theft incidents have caused Prasarana losses of almost RM30 million.
What’s more worrying, he said, is that criminals are no longer targeting grounding cables. Instead, they are now cutting live, high-voltage cables.
“They are believed to have specific techniques and tools to avoid electric shocks. This doesn’t just put public safety at risk, but also complicates repair work because safety procedures require power lines to be deactivated first, especially if incidents happen during operating hours. Naturally, this severely affects train services,” he said.
Amir stressed the need for stronger enforcement and harsher legal penalties, saying current punishments do not reflect the scale of losses or service disruption caused.
“The penalties are too light. The impact isn’t just financial, it affects the reliability and quality of public transport as a whole,” he added.
In response, Prasarana has stepped up temporary security measures including close collaboration with the police through targeted patrols at hotspot areas such as the MRT Kajang and Putrajaya lines.
“We’ve also deployed staff at selected locations, installed CCTV cameras and tightened access controls along rail corridors,” he said.
However, Amir admitted the biggest challenge is scale. The MRT network alone stretches nearly 200 kilometres.
“Most of our tracks are elevated and in open areas, making them more exposed compared to rail systems in other countries that are mostly underground,” he said.
To prevent repeat incidents, Prasarana and asset owner MRT Corp are now working on long-term solutions involving infrastructure design improvements.
He said new designs and implementation phases have been identified, and currently seeking the necessary funding to tackle cable theft in a more comprehensive way.
Additional measures include the use of sniffer dogs, installation of solar-powered CCTV at selected locations, barbed wire fencing along parts of the Putrajaya Utara station track, deployment of security guards and blocking access through large drains to limit suspect movement.
Strategic engagement with police leadership at federal, state and district levels will also be strengthened to improve prevention efforts.
Still, Amir acknowledged that eliminating cable theft entirely in the near future remains a major challenge.