Local authorities must upkeep maintenance of escalators, lifts, urges watchdog

SHAH ALAM - After mounting complaints about an escalator breakdown at a busy pedestrian tunnel at the Kuala Lumpur City Centre (KLCC), a public transport watchdog said it's time to stop such neglect as lifts and escalators continue to break down in public areas.

This comes as social media users posted pictures of pedestrians using the staircase along a broken-down escalator connecting Suria KLCC Mall, KLCC LRT station and Avenue K shopping mall.

The Association for the Improvement of Mass Transit Malaysia (Transit Malaysia) founder Muhammad Zulkarnain Hamzah said that the respective authorities should take immediate action on the matter.

"We cannot speculate the cause for the elevators breakdown, but as for the public transport properties, they are owned by the public sectors and should be managed by public authorities such as Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur (DBKL).

"By right, the authority should take the accountability and fix the escalator right away," he said to Sinar Daily.

Zulkarnain added that it is frustrating to know when old citizens, mothers with strollers and people in wheelchairs have to rely on others simply to get through.

"I am not sure what's stopping the authorities from fixing the issue as this is not an isolated case. From the government's perspective, there should be an accountability of who is in charge of this issue,'' he said.

Muhammad Zulkarnain then urged local authorities to keep a close eye on public infrastructure especially those in heavily travelled areas as well as public transportation hubs.

This came after a viral video posted yesterday by @cameronkyc on Twitter who lambasted the supposed caretaker of the escalator for not keeping up with proper maintenance for quite some time.

Transit Malaysia also retweeted the post by expressing their disappointment as the escalator that broke down was placed in one of the busiest areas in Kuala Lumpur.