I can’t remember when was the last time I used this phrase “the road was like a car park”. Many moons ago when I worked in an office located in the Golden Triangle in Kuala Lumpur I would be late for work occasionally. Whenever my boss asked me why I was late, I would reply, “Bad traffic jam woh, the cars all stationery on the road like in a big car park” . Since I started working in Petaling Jaya, traffic was slightly better and I had forgotten what it was like being in a big car park on the road until……. yesterday.
I had left my house before 7 a.m. and noticed that there was not a single policeman at the traffic light junctions directing traffic as was usually the case in the mornings. Where have they all disappeared to? Their absence contributed to the chaotic traffic and by the time I entered the Penchala Toll on the LDP, traffic was very heavy. Oh yes, I saw speeding police cars and motorcycles with their loud sirens and we had to make way for them. Was there some motor vehicle accident or disaster? No, it was merely the Le Tour de Langkawi! How I wish the police would react to a distress call with such speed. But we all know the reality of it all, don’t we?
So there I was stuck in a big “car park” on my side of the road whilst on the opposite side of the road, it was clear, an airplane could land on it and not hit any motor vehicle…
And then several cars (could be sponsors or what) started zooming past, oblivious of the massive traffic jam and mess this whole event had created for the thousands of people. I didn’t see the cyclists participating in the Le Tour de Langkawi passing by though, as they were due to cycle past that area some time later.
I think it was bad timing on the part of the organisers of the event. Can they please pay us back (the thousands trapped in this massive jam) the time and money spent on petrol that we lost.
