Throughout last week, there were massive traffic jams in many parts of the nation as Malaysians flocked back to their hometown to celebrate Hari Raya Aidilfitri.
In a Facebook post, Malaysian road user Zairul Annuar shared how he tried to avoid a traffic standstill at the PLUS highway to Kuala Lumpur by exiting at Gopeng to take the inner roads, only to find that even the inner road in Ladang Bikam has a massive traffic jam through Google Maps.
Agreeing to a reroute suggested by the navigation app which uses a small road, Zairul didn’t hesitate but found himself driving through a neighbourhood and then an unpaved road through a palm oil plantation. It is here where he and other road users encountered something truly wholesome.
Going through ‘jalan tikus’ to beat the traffic but found it impassable
Zairul recounted,
“Slowly, we continued our journey. Suddenly, a few cars from the opposite direction can be seen, who then stopped beside us to inform us that the road ahead was impassable.”
“They directed us to turn back. All of the cars behind us were instructed to do the same.”
He then did so but as his car re-entered the residential area, Zairul was stopped by a group of middle-aged Chinese men living there.
They then asked Zairul if he and his family were heading to Kuala Lumpur and urged them to not turn back as they’d encounter a traffic jam.
Chinese villagers go out of their way to repair the impassable road
Instead, the Chinese villagers said that they would repair the blocked road so that cars could pass through. The group of middle-aged Chinese men said to Zairul,
“The road ahead of you is blocked, right? Don’t worry. We’ll bring a backhoe to repair that road. You wait a moment.”
Zairul then said that the neighbourhood turned out to be a Chinese residential area and that the residents collectively agreed to help facilitate the passage of vehicles through the neighbourhood.
The villagers banded together and used a backhoe to level out the road for strangers to use
Sharing a video of him going through the ‘jalan tikus’, a backhoe can be seen by the roadside after it was used to level out the road so that normal cars can pass through, as only 4WDs can do so before due to an incline.
Touched by the Chinese villagers’ action of going out of their way to help strangers on Aidilfitri, Zairul heaped praises on them, saying,
“They came out of their homes and worked together. The people of Perak are amazing. Powerful. This is the true spirit of Malaysia.”
You can read and watch the attached video of the post here:
Wholesome! So, what do you guys think of Zairul’s sharing? Share your thoughts with us in the comments.
Also read: Road Users Made to Wait in Long Lines at a Toilet Stop Near the KL-Karak Highway
