Highway crawl not balik kampung returnees, say cops after viral posts

Police today denied that the traffic jam along a major highway in Selangor yesterday was due to people returning from their home towns after the Hari Raya break.

Speaking to MalaysiaNow, Gombak district police chief ACP Arifai Tarawe said the congestion along the Karak highway was due to stricter checks at roadblocks to ensure that road users are complying with the ban on interstate and inter-district travel.

“There was a jam of about 3-4km from the roadblock,” he said. “Most of the travellers had interstate travel permission and letters from their employers.”

He added that only 27 compounds were issued yesterday for attempting interstate or inter-district travel without permission.

A photo of vehicles from the east coast lining up to enter the Klang Valley was shared on the Twitter acocunt of the Malaysian Highway Authority yesterday.

Social media users had voiced concern over compliance with the ban on interstate travel, implemented under the current movement control order until June 7.