An open letter to SMRT, reportedly written by a
relative of one of the two men killed in the train tragedy near
Pasir Ris MRT station on Tuesday is questioning the safety
procedures of the train operator and its response to the
tragedy.
The letter was posted on the website of student publication The
Kent Ridge Common on Wednesday. The letter was also posted on
The Kent Ridge Common’s Facebook page, where it has been shared
over 2,500 times.
The letter writer, who did not identify himself or herself, says
the two staff, Muhammad Asyraf Ahmad Buhari, 24, and Nasrulhudin
Najumudin, 26, “followed your (SMRT) orders only to be
betrayed”.
He or she added, “What we resent are your attempts to clear
yourselves of any fault, insisting that you have observed all the
standard operating procedures. If you did everything right, then
your standard operating procedures must be flimsy.”
The two men, who were trainee staff, were hit by a train
as they were about to conduct maintenance on a point machine
located 200m away from Pasir Ris station. They had joined
the company in January this year.
SMRT has said that it will review its safety protocols and will
support the police and the Ministry of Manpower in their
investigations.
As of early Wednesday, SMRT changed its Facebook profile photo to a
black and white version of its logo.
The letter writer added, “Instead of being so quick to protect your
interests, seek the humanity deep within you to acknowledge your
mistakes and learn from them to ensure that this tragedy does not
happen to any one else’s son. Will you take responsibility? Or will
your public relations team continue to craft words to protect you
from blame?
“At this point, the families are grieving at the loss of a beloved.
But grief will soon turn into anger.”