Man in Female-Only MRT Coach Verbally Abused Woman Who Confronted Him

TikTok user @itsrafaa recently shared a video of a man who she claimed refused to leave the women’s coach on the MRT. According to her caption, he shouted and cursed at Rafaa, a Tanzanian woman when she politely asked him to leave the coach. She only managed to take a video of him after he stopped shouting.

He then phoned someone so that it would look like she was disturbing him. She added that there was no security available when she tried to locate a member of the auxiliary police.

Watch the TikTok video here:

@itsrafaaa Tiktok do your thing, he wasn’t on the phone when i asked him he phoned someone when i started taking a video so that it looks like im disturbing him, but he shouted at me multiple times before i managed to start recording. Ps there was no security available when i tried to find them #fypシ #fyp #xyzbca #fypシ゚viral #malaysia #malaysiatiktok #mrt #mrtmalaysia?? #mrtwomen ♬ original sound - Rafaa

Keen-eyed netizens commented that it was funny how the man wore an earpiece but still held his handphone to his ear so that it seemed like he was busy on the phone. Another user said, “Too many men in women's coach lately and the fact that Rapid does nothing to solve this pisses me off. DO BETTER @Rapid KL.”

It seems like this is a common occurrence as one shared her experience when there were eight to nine guys seated in the women’s coach who ignored her request for them to leave so she contacted the staff instead. A sympathetic user said, “I’m sorry you’ve to deal with this…he’s trying to save himself from embarrassment and pretended to answer a call.”

Many women thanked Rafaa for highlighting the issue and tagged Rapid KL in the comments, asking them to take the issue seriously.

Implementing women’s coaches on the Kajang Line MRT is a recent move by Rapid KL as it only began on 17 September 2023. However, women’s coach have been on KTM Komuter trains since April 2010. The coaches are marked clearly with signs in pink.

The Case for (or Against) Female-Only Coaches

The move aims to provide a safer environment for female passengers using public transport but has sparked a heated debate on Reddit. User kvfire9 wrote about how she has been groped two times over the years in crowded coaches and she has been ‘secretly’ recorded from a corner by men.

Note: this female writer also recalls an uncomfortable situation in the past when I was recorded by a foreign man on a KTM despite being modestly attired in a long-sleeved shirt and long pants. This is not an issue only in Malaysia as a similar situation has also happened to me in the UK.

In the comments, other Redditors cited the issue of the lack of coaches or regular trains. They explained that there were empty seats in the women’s coach while many females still entered the mixed coaches, which caused overcrowding in the latter.

Another Redditor also said that the women’s coach also caused problems for those under the OKU category or the elderly, who had to walk further to enter a coach. Others also cited that men could also get harassed, not only women.

What do you think about the issue? Read more about Rapid KL’s women’s coaches here.

Image credit: tiktok.com/@itsrafaaa