Minister Rohani Abdul Karim said these features would include a buffer between the side of the escalator and the steps to prevent feet or shoes being caught in between.
“When parents with children ride the escalator, they do not have the time to look left or right. Of course, parents have to be careful, but the additional safety features can help prevent accidents.”
She was speaking to reporters after visiting Dzil Mikhail Nasaruddin, four, whose left foot was partly severed after it was trapped in an escalator at KL Sentral on Monday.
Mikhail lost part of his mid-foot after attempts to re-attach it failed, and is now being treated at the Paediatric Ward at the Kuala Lumpur Hospital.
Rohani also urged the management of shopping malls to conduct more checks on their escalators to ensure they were safe and operated well.
She said they should also be responsible in providing the necessary reminders to parents and other users on safety measures when using the escalators.
On the incident, Rohani said the ministry was awaiting a report from the Department of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH), which was investigating the cause of the incident.
She said the ministry would provide assistance, including counselling to Dzil Mikhail and his parents who were still traumatised by Monday’s incident.
“Besides hospital treatment, we will also provide the parents with counselling sessions from time to time so that they not blame themselves over what happened.”
She added that Dzil’s parents were also advised to register their only child with the Department of Welfare Services as a handicapped person so that he could be eligible for the various benefits available.
She added that parents and the public should take note of the incident and be more careful and alert so that it did not happen again.
Kuala Lumpur Hospital director Dr Zaininah Mohd Zain said Dzil Mikhail will undergo skin grafting after his wounds healed.
“After treatment, the child will undergo rehabilitation and physiotherapy sessions.”
She added that the treatment would be long-term in nature so that Dzil could walk properly despite the injury to his foot.
– BERNAMA