MALACCA, Nov 8 — The monorail service in Malacca, connecting Taman Rempah to the Hang Tuah station, has been suspended for 30 days from today as it could pose a danger to passengers because it did not meet certain safety recommendations.

Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) chief operating officer Azhar Ahmad said engineers from KL Monorail and SPAD discovered that the monorail operator failed to fulfil several key passenger safety aspects, according to a Bernama report.

“After our two-day inspection, completed yesterday, the monorail service has been temporarily suspended for 30 days until its operator Taming Sari Sdn Bhd is able to provide the facilities recommended by SPAD,” he was quoted as saying today.

He said that one of the recommendations was the provision of a “cherry picker” crane to rescue stranded passengers when the coach stalls.

“The monorail tyre traction was also not strong enough when it rains and this must be rectified,” he was quoted as saying, adding that SPAD would continue with its inspection once the operator complied with the recommendations.

Another problem was that the monorail, imported from China, did not come with an operation manual in Bahasa Malaysia or English, which made carrying out repair and maintenance works a challenge, according to the Bernama report.

It has been reported that two British tourists had to be rescued using a ladder when the monorail they were in stalled on November 1.

Following the incident, Azhar ordered a 48-hour stoppage on the 1.6km line to enable a safety inspection.

The RM15.5 million monorail was launched by Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam in October last year and has carried about 16,000 passengers since.

When contacted later, Mohd Ali said the service should not have been suspended as it has fulfilled safety aspects.

“However, I will look into the matter on Monday to gauge the actual situation,” Bernama quoted him as saying.