KUALA LUMPUR, May 8 — 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 spokesperson 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, adding that it might be due to the rising number of road users as well as the strict inspection conducted by the police at a roadblock mounted at the toll plaza.
LLM also uploaded a photo showing vehicles stuck in a traffic jam along the road on its official Facebook page.
Meanwhile, Kelantan police chief Datuk Shafien Mamat confirmed that there was a surge of vehicle movements into the state since yesterday involving three main entry points namely Gua Musang, Pasir Puteh, and Jeli.
He said a total of 75 vehicles were forced to turn back for not having interstate travel permits throughout the implementation of roadblocks at the state’s entry points, adding that police would mount five more roadblocks in the state.
Kelantan has been placed under the movement control order beginning April 16 until May 17.
“Besides that, police will also increase the number of enforcement teams to monitor the people’s level of compliance with the standard operating procedures in public places such as shopping malls,” he said.
Meanwhile, Bentong district police chief Supt Zaiham Mohd Kahar said the roadblock mounted at the toll plaza was to ensure road users had complete interstate travel documents and comply with the rules implemented under the MCO.
He said police personnel manning the roadblock had to conduct a thorough inspection to ensure that the information in the document matched the passenger information of each vehicle, 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 Ministry of International Trade and Industry.
“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 to both southbound and northbound.
— Bernama
