Malacca Monorail

The Malacca monorail had created another headline. In my opinion, it is NOT befitting to a state that self-proclaimed as a developed state, to be in the situation where the firemen had to use ladders to rescue the visiting tourist. It way carry the negative message that we are not capable of handling technology.

Smart Solution...

Mechanics are installing special ladders to enable passengers to climb down in emergency situation. Probably they do not believe that they can improve he reliability of the malacca monorail. I could imagine in the welcoming announcement, the driver will be saying.. 'ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Malacca monorail, a project to commemorate the proclamation of Malacca as a developed states well ahead of the targeted year of 2020. We assure you that this machine will take you through the intended 1.3 km journey even if we have to use our latest locally developed advance state of technology, the Malacca Retractable Ladder".

At 1,11 pm on 1 of 11 2011, the monorail halted to a stop in the middle of its journey. There is no way out, but to call rescue personnel to force open the doors and climb down the ladders.

It is rather unusual that the responsible personnel described the incident as a minor glitch and unavoidable.

As reported on 4 July 2010.

The Star reported that the Malacca monorail project is facing more delays. The much awaited rm16 million along the Malacca River was hitting another snag. The developer was unlikely able to meet the Aug 29 deadline despite the assurance from the chief minister Datuk Seri Mohad Ali Rustom.

According to the Council's chief engineer, there were still components of the projects which has yet to be completed.

The project initially ran into difficulties over the acquisition of land at Kampung Bunga Raya Pantai,” he said.
The track spans 1.6km, from Taman Rempah in Pengkalan Rama to Kampung Bunga Raya Pantai in the heart of the city. The project was launched in March 2008 as part of the state's project to tap on Malacca River as a tourist attraction.

While they might be able to complete construction of the station on time, he noted that the operators of the monorail would still be required to obtain the necessary approvals from the relevant authorities before the monorail was deemed safe for public use.

He said it usually took three weeks to obtain the certificate of fitness.

“We also need to apply for a license from the Transport Minis­try,” he added.

Rafiee estimated that the monorail would be fully operational and open to the public by the end of September.

On Wednesday, Mohd Ali visited the project site after learning that the opening of the monorail for public use had been delayed twice since May 31.

Besides the monorail, several other features such as mini roller coaster ride is also being developed at the Hang Tuah station.

The project is a joint venture between the council, state subsidiary Kumpulan Melaka Berhad and Agibs Engineering & Construction Sdn Bhd.

The fate of the malacca monorail project remind us of the situation of eye of Malaysia, which was abandoned due to the financial problems.