An Empty Feeling

Aiyoh!!!!!!!!!!….my left leg is aching badly from having to press and depress the clutch pedal. My arse is aching as well from sitting on the car seat for 2 1/2 hours and all because of the unusual heavy bumper-bumper to traffic jam going into Kuala Lumpur. Normally it would only take me about an hour to reach office from my home in Kajang.

I left my house at 7.00am and reached office at 9.45am all because of the Federal Territory Day (Hari Wilayah) dress rehearsal that resulted in several road closures leading into Kuala Lumpur. By the way Federal Territory Day falls on 1st February 2007 and coincidentally, Thaipusam Day also falls on that day.

I wished they, meaning the media would have informed the motorists about the road closures a day or two before the dress rehearsal. That would have save me the trouble of driving into Kuala Lumpur as I would have parked my trusty little car at the Kajang KTM Komuter train station and board the train to Kuala Lumpur.

I am not sure whether there will be another dress rehearsal tomorrow, but my instincts tells me most likely there will be. Guess I have to take the train to Kuala Lumpur tomorrow morning from Kajang or perhaps I should just call in sick eh ? Yeah…that would be more like it…just call the Human Resource Department and in a pathetic and sick voice say..

“AHHHHHCHOOOOOOOO…..sniff-sniff…AHHHHHHCHOOOOOOO….
eh…babe…I tak datang ke opis…sebab..I ni demam lah. Tolong bagi tahu boss ya.” (Yo babe, I ain’t comin’ to the office cos’ I am having the flu..Pass the message to the boss)

BTW below is the official report from BERNAMA

Thousands Trapped In KL Traffic Congestion

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 30 (Bernama) — The closure of several major roads in this city due to a rehearsal in conjunction with the Federal Territories Day on Thursday, left thousands of motorists trapped for over two hours in massive traffic congestion Tuesday.

The roads leading to Jalan Raja and Dataran Merdeka were closed from 5am and to 9.45am, causing many people arriving for work late.

A Jalan Bandar traffic police spokesman said Jalan Tun Razak, Jalan Mahameru, Jalan Travers, Jalan Kuching, Jalan Brickfields, Jalan Bangsar, Jalan Sungai Besi, Jalan Istana and Jalan Syed Putra were among the badly congested roads.

“Dataran Merdeka is the pulse of Kuala Lumpur. When it’s closed, all the surrounding roads will be affected and this was the cause of the congestion. Our personnel were deployed at the major roads as early as 5am to direct traffic. Now, the traffic is smooth.

“We understand that many arrived late for work and lost their patience because of this. The rehearsal was held by the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) but it’s understood that they did not give any early notices… in the end, the traffic (police) were blamed,” he told Bernama when contacted here today.

The Integrated Transport Information System (ITIS) electronic billboards erected at many major roads in the city had actually informed motorists of the road closures over the past several days.

However, many angry drivers met by Bernama said the massive congestion was not acceptable.

M. Santhiran, 40, who was trapped in the middle of Jalan Sungai Besi on the way to work at Jalan Tun Razak, said: “Had they informed road users much earlier, surely things like this would not have happened.

“We don’t even know about the closures and where are the traffic personnel? Imagine if someone is in emergency or sick, a situation like this will surely cause difficulties to them,” he said.

Checks by Bernama showed that the ITIS billboards did not give information on alternatives routes other than telling motorists of the traffic jams and that they would be late.

As at 1pm, the traffic situation was gradually returning to normal.

– BERNAMA