Heavy traffic heading to east coast

The Malaysian Highway Authority (LLM) has reported a high number of vehicles on the main route to the east coast despite the enforcement of movement controls in the city.

Its spokesman when contacted by Bernama today said the number of vehicles had been increasing since as early as 8am today, causing congestion especially in the area before the Bentong toll plaza.

The spokesman said this might be due to the rising number of road users as well as the strict inspection conducted by police at the roadblock at the toll plaza.

LLM also uploaded a photo of vehicles stuck in a traffic jam along the road on its official Facebook page.

Kelantan police chief Shafien Mamat confirmed a surge of vehicle movements into the state since yesterday involving three main entry points: Gua Musang, Pasir Puteh and Jeli.

He said the drivers of 75 vehicles were forced to turn back as they did not have interstate travel permits, adding that police would mount five more roadblocks in the state.

“Besides that, police will also increase the number of enforcement teams to monitor the people’s level of compliance with SOPs in public places such as shopping malls,” he said.

Kelantan is under movement control order until May 17.

Meanwhile, Bentong district police chief Supt Zaiham Mohd Kahar said the roadblock at the toll plaza was to ensure that road users have complete interstate travel documents and comply with the rules implemented under the MCO.

He said police personnel manning the roadblock have to conduct a thorough inspection to ensure that the information in the documents matches the passenger information of each vehicle, thus causing the traffic to build up.

According to him, the majority of road users passing the roadblock are parents fetching their children from institutes of higher learning or hostels, as well as long-distance spouses and employees of companies allowed to operate by the international trade and industry ministry.

“Since this morning, no compound has been issued and all drivers have been able to submit valid documents,” he said.

Meanwhile, LLM said traffic was smooth along all major routes both southbound and northbound.