Jakarta, Oct 4 (ANTARA) - Transportation Minister Freddy Numberi said on Monday that state-owned railway company PT Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI), as a train operator in the country, was responsible for the train collision that killed at least 34 people and injured 43 others in Pemalang, Central Java on Saturday.
"The Ministry of Transportation is not responsible for the accident . PT KAI is the operator while the ministry only serves as a regulator. So, the collision between Senja Utama and Agro Bromo Anggrek trains in Pemalang, Central Java, is purely the responsibility of PT KAI," the minister said.
Therefore the minister will leave the matter to the investigators and wait for the results before his ministry and the ministry of state enterprises --which overseas PT KAI-- discuss the sanctions that might be imposed on those responsible in PT KAI.
"In essence we are waiting for the results of the investigation of the National Transportation Safety Committee (KNKT), police and other relevant parties and there will be sanctions," the minister said.
In the meantime, on Monday, State-owned Enterprises (BUMN) Minister Mustafa Abubakar summoned the state railway company PT KAI management over the deadly train accident. "I have invited the management of PT KAI to come at 2 pm. We do not want this kind of accident not to occur again," Mustafa said.
However, there was no indication yet that the minister was going to take action against PT KAI President Dirctor Ignasius Jonan. "Everything must be based on regulations, legal provisions and proper considerations. One should not prematurely talk about dismissal," said Mustafa.
He said sanctions that would be taken against the management should be based on existing regulations. "Sanctions must be in accordance with extent of the mistakes made," the minister said.
The state-enterprise minister said he had summoned the PT KAI management and what he was to do now was wait for the investigation results. "While waiting for the results of the KNKT investigation, we ask the PT KAI management to carry make an analysis," he said.
The minister said he had given directives to the PT KAI management before the post-fasting month or Lebaran holidays that it should increase alertness to prevent accidents.
"And thank God, during the Lebaran festivities there were no train accidents. However, all of a sudden, this train accident happened last weekend," he said.
On the possibility of changing the management of the state-owned railway company, Abubakar said that his ministry was still waiting for the results of the investigation by the National Transportation Safety Committee.
"We hope that the KNKT will submit a report on the results of its investigation soon. After that, the ministry of transportation and the ministry of state-owned enterprise will sit together to discuss the results of the investigation," the minister said.
The executive class Argo Bromo Anggrek train from Jakarta to Surabaya rammed from behind the stationary business class Senja Utama train about 100 meters west of Petarukan railway station at Jatimulyo village, Petarukan sub district, Pemalang district, at 3 am on Saturday. At least 34 people were killed and 43 others sustained serious and minor injuries.
In response to the train accident, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said that transportation officials whose negligence had caused the accident that claimed people's lives must be given stern sanctions.
"They should be given sanctions, there is no need for hesitation," the president said when he opened a plenary cabinet meeting at the presidential office here on Monday.
He said that taking sanctions against negligent officials was an ethical and standard system in carrying out the government administration in the interest of the people.
Therefore, the president ordered the relevant ministries to always check the preparedness of transportation services and carry out an investigation whenever an accident had occurred. "It must be ensured that all transportation services are running well," Yudhoyono said. The minister must conduct field checks to ensure that all systems are functioning well.
Legislators have also asked the ministry of transportation to evaluate comprehensively state-owned railway company PT KAI's performance.
"I am saddened by the accident. After all, the death toll reaches 34 people. The Transportation Ministry, particularly the directorate general of railway affairs, should continue to pay attention to this problem," Abdul Hakim, member of the House of Representatives (DPR)'s Commission V on transportation affairs said here over the weekend.
He said that the train accident indicated that the government's performance in the railway sector was bad. Therefore, Hakim asked the ministry of transportation to thoroughly evaluate the accident and take radical steps to avoid the repetition of the same accident.
Moreover, the accident was believed to have taken place as a result of negligence of the official in charge.
"I received information that the accident had taken place most likely because of human error. Agro Anggrek train was suspected to have ignored a railway traffic signal, entering a track that was being used by Senja Utama train and hitting it from behind," Hakim, who is also secretary of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) faction in the House, said.
Transportation Minister Freddy Numberi has said his ministry would conduct a comprehensive evaluation of PT Kreta Api Indonesia (PT KAI).
"With the evaluation, we hope we will be able to know the cause of the accident which killed tens of passengers, whether it was caused by a human error or by somehting else," the minister .
However, he called on the public not to see as criminals the train officials who were involved in a train accident. "This involves a legal process. One should not treat the officials as criminals. They are not criminals but officials who carried out their tasks, yet they were negligent and had caused deaths," the minister said.
He said that in the investigation and the prosecution of the case by the prosecutor's office, factors such as fatigue should always be taken into account. "Based on the law, their negligence is punishable by five years in jail but we would ask that the jail term should not be fully imposed as there are humanitarian factors involved that should be considered as well," the minister said.***3***
(T.A014/A/HAJM/20:00/a014)04-10-2010 20:13: |
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