Last week, PDRM arrested four suspects believed to be involved in cable theft on the MRT Putrajaya Line, which happened near the MRT Sri Damansara Barat station on March 3. That incident caused service disruption to the rail line for three days, affecting thousands of public transport users.
That’s good news, but catching the thieves is one thing, locking them up is another. If thieves can get away with just a small fine, they might find the risk/reward ratio to be worthwhile, and Prasarana has said that they’ve found the same individuals back on the tracks, back to their old habits. More needs to be done on the legislation side to curb this worsening trend.
The transport ministry understands this, and has proposed to the home ministry that the existing law be amended to impose heavier punishment on individuals cable theft. Minister Anthony Loke says that rail line cable theft is a very serious crime as it has the potential to threaten public safety and affect public transport operations.
“It is not just an offence to steal cables as it is also an offence to threaten public safety because the cables, when stolen, could cause accidents in the country’s public transport system. So this is a very serious offence,” he told the media yesterday, reported by Bernama.
The Seremban MP said he held discussions with home minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail to discuss the matter in December 2025 and further action would be taken by latter’s ministry. Here’s hoping that the required amendments to the law can be accelerated to make thieves think twice before ripping cables off our rail lines.
In December, Prasarana said that cable theft is directly affecting millions of commuters in the Klang Valley. This is in addition to losses of RM20.6 million in the past three years. In 2024, 41 cases of cable theft were recorded, but there were at least 69 cases in 2025 (until mid-December), which is a 68% increase. The trend is spurred by demand and the market price of the cables, specifically the copper inside. More on rail cable theft here.
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