APIIT Bus Collision at Bukit Jalil LRT Station

See the photos and the text report is below.

On the afternoon of 3 July there was a severe collision involving the APIIT UCTI bus and a taxi. The bus in question was assigned LRT rounds on the day, and it was on its way to its destination when the collision took place. From several sources I have compiled this appropriately detailed report.

The bus carrying students to the LRT station from the college was on Lebuhraya Shah Alam, an expressway, about to turn into the Jalan Merah Cager, a busy junction due to there being a traffic signal. It was then that the bus driver realized that he couldn’t engage the breaks on the bus which was travelling fast but within limits.

According to accounts from several witnesses of the collision, the driver first used the pedal to brake, and that was when the brakes on the bus failed. Several people claimed that they saw sparks when the brakes were engaged, the sparks were issuing from the wheel arches of the bus, probably because the front left tire had exploded.

The driver however was determined to stop the bus and by this time he had already entered Jalan Merah Cager, barely keeping the bus steady on the corner as he tried, without prevail, to engage the hand break failing again to stop the bus.

At this point, further ahead, a taxi was cruising on the lane closest to the sidewalk, also driving his customer to the LRT station. Meanwhile the bus driver was now attempting to turn off the road, but given the speed, and no way to stop, he rammed the taxi in the rear and shattered the rear windscreen. The taxi was now moving sideways until it hit one of the pillars on the sidewalk, which supports the canopy. This made the taxi’s front end lurch to the left and ram into the other pillars of the canopy, which no longer stood shading the sidewalk, and instead crumpled to a heap on the side.

The bus however is a much heavier vehicle and so after it rammed into the taxi, it continued to advance right at the side walk at a 45 degree angle, at which point the front of the bus crashed right into the canopy at speed. As the canopy, which was made from tin, wrapped around the front, the bus had already gone completely across the sidewalk and that was when it finally came to a halt.

According the reports from witnesses, there was a woman in the taxi, who exit the taxi after the collision. She had suffered from cuts to her hands while coming out of the taxi due to the broken glass, and so she was bleeding. Reports also suggest that she was in shock when she emerged from the wreck. The students on the bus were all fine; apparently everyone was seated at the time of the crash which preventing them from being harmed in this unfortunate collision.

Credits to Sami,Sammie,Michael Lim,Saeid Hedari,Derek Ooi,Saeed (seebChe)

Below is the gif I made with the photos I took after they moved the bus so that it can be towed away.

I stood in front of the bus APIIT UCTI

My name is Loh Ji Yuan and I stopped the bus.

Around 9 o'clock in the morning, a yellow Bas Sekolah with a tiny APIIT/UCTI logo at its windscreen was stopping in front of the yellow box after the traffic light near Gate 1( near 7 Eleven) of Arena Green Apartments. It was a bus coming from Vista Komanwel going towards APIIT/UCTI’s Building in Technology Park Malaysia. It had stopped there for more than 30 seconds because of the traffic congestion.

I decided to cross the road from Arena Green to enter the bus. So I crossed the road and I looked at the traffic in front of the bus and made sure that the traffic in front is static. At that point in time, I knocked on the door of the bus. The bus driver that wore spectacles was on duty for that shift. He refused to open the door for me while the traffic was not moving.

So I walked from the side and stood in front of the bus to ask the bus driver to open the door for me and once again he refused.

I opened my arms wide and demanded, “WHY? WHY? WHY?”. The bus driver moved the bus forward even though he was fully aware that I was standing right in front of the bus. I did not budge, planting both of my feet firmly on the ground. The bus driver stepped on his brakes inches before me. I again continued to ask him “WHY? WHY? WHY?”.

At that moment, he opened the bus door to take my student ID, asked me to take it back from Mr. Anthony who is in charge of student discipline and then he ran back into the bus. I entered the bus before he closed the door. Minutes later, I finally set foot in APIIT.

That was what happened on 9th June 2009.

­­­­­­­­­­

__________________________________________________________________

What went through my mind when I decided to stand in front of the bus?

I felt cheated. I felt I wasn’t being treated fairly. I felt I was being discriminated against. I stopped the bus. The fact that I felt discriminated was because the buses on numerous occasions picked up many other people from many different spots including the exact spot where I tried to catch the bus. I had to ask “WHY?”, what was the reason?

It’s moments like this that pushes people beyond their limits. There I stood, risking my life, irrationally. I have to apologize to all the ones that love me especially my parents but all I wanted, and stood for, was equal treatment.

___________________________________________________________________

I queued outside Mr.Anthony’s office waiting for my turn to see him. When my turn came, I walked into his room and told him I was there to take my student ID. He turned his head and spoke to Mr.Selva and said: “This is the boy who stopped the bus.” He told me that the buses are supposed to only stop at designated spots and not anywhere else. Vista Komanwel buses are not supposed to pick up students from Arena Green, only buses coming from the LRT station can pick up students from Arena Green, according to him. I tried not to react, I did not want to say something I would regret because I had anger in me. They told me that they would send a letter to inform my parents about this incident and warned me that if I stopped the bus once more I would have to face the disciplinary board. Mr. Anthony asked why I stood in front of the bus and wondered what could have happened, if the bus driver had been arrogant and if he had decided to not stop and drive over me. I told him I could have been injured or worse lost my life. After the discussion, I got my student ID and left.

I went for lunch and calmed myself down. I went to Mr. Anthony’s office again with my reasoning and thoughts that I couldn’t answer during the first session. I then expressed what went through my mind when I risked my life to stop the bus, which I have explained above. I made suggestions that they have proper signs to tell students about the designated spots.

Mr. Anthony accepted my suggestions but Mr. Selva interrupted and said that the location of the designated spots is a known fact to all the students and questioned me whether they have to have a large signboard showing people that? I admitted my mistake for being irrational and I said that I know I was wrong to stop the bus. I was merely trying to tell them why I did what I did. The first reason is because there was no proper notices on the bus that tells us where they should or should not stop. The second, is how the bus stopped for other people and not me.

Mr. Selva once again told me that I was wrong to do what I did. Again I explained that I knew I was wrong and admitted my mistake. But I was merely trying to tell them why I did what I did. Mr. Anthony suggested we end the conversation because we were going round and round and so we left his room.

I am glad that I stood up for something that I believed in but I feel guilt about the means I chose to stand up for my belief. It shouldn’t have been so reckless. So it doesn’t feel right and in fact quite wrong. So do not let your self do something like this.

StudentARC Leadership Camp 2009 #3

- Part 1 - Part 2 -

After the land mine exercise, comes this activity that tests our leadership,listening,courage and trust. 4 members have to stand on the 5 chairs in which 2 have to be blindfolded and the other two will have their hands tied up. The group leader will stay on the ground and provide instructions to the members and one tough guy will standby behind the people in case of accidents.

oops...that seems like an interesting angle? haha *you know what I mean?*

SARC members strategizing with mineral watter bottles before going on the battlefield.

The two star wannabies Nomin from Mongolia and Leka from Tanzania.

Muru and Jaskirat, both focusing at the same section. 

Judith got excited!

I had that "that's so easy!" look and Ike had the "I hope you know what you're doing" look.

My group in action!

All the guys were trying to look away while the girls was trying to...

:)