CAMERON HIGHLANDS, Jan 20 — With a three-day-long weekend due to the Thaipusam public holiday, and just days before the by-election, tourists who decided to visit Cameron Highlands found themselves caught in a horrendous traffic jam.
The tourist destination has already seen more than its usual share of visitors due to political parties and their supporters campaigning for the by-election, while the presence of tourists over the weekend has not helped the traffic situation here.
The traffic jam currently stretches about 20 kilometres both ways from Kampung Raja to Tanah Rata.
Malay Mail interviewed several tourists who were stuck in the jam while heading to Cameron Highlands and some said that it took them six hours to reach the hill resort, as opposed to about two hours on other days.
Sharul Afendi Abdul Kahar, 33, who drove to Camerons with his family yesterday said that it took him six hours to reach Tanah Rata from Shah Alam.
“I did not expect the traffic would be as bad at this and driving up here with the jam is not easy even if you have an auto transmission car.
“You have to constantly use either the leg or hand brake and with the bends and slopes, it wasn’t a pleasant drive either,” he told Malay Mail.
Shahrul also said his family decided to spend their holiday in Tanah Rata instead of visiting other parts of the constituency like Brinchang and Kampung Raja, as they were afraid they would get caught in a traffic jam again.
“I checked on the traffic in Waze and it shows that the road from Tanah Rata to Brinchang is still congested today. So, it’s not a wise decision to drive there now,” he said.
A tourist from London, who only wanted to be named Francis, said that the traffic was terrible today.
“I came with my wife to visit her relatives here, but half of our day has been wasted in the jam,” said the 85-year-old.
Another tourist Syed Mustaffa Ameer Sultan, 48, from Ipoh said that the jam is expected to worsen tomorrow as most tourists will be heading back to their hometowns.
“If today (the jam) is bad, I don’t know what to say about tomorrow. Most of the visitors will be leaving tomorrow, as they need to start work the next day.
“I hope the authorities will do something to control the traffic,” he said.
A local, Nur Aliyana Sulaiman, 22, said that the road from Tanah Rata to Brinchang will usually be congested during the weekends.
“However, since tomorrow is also a public holiday, a lot of people have decided to visit the places here and that’s the reason for the bad jam,” she said.
