Malaysians who thought they could avoid the long weekend traffic by returning to Kuala Lumpur early were in for a surprise.
Over the weekend, several road users shared on Threads that traffic from the East Coast towards KL was already heavily congested, especially around the Bentong to Gombak stretch.
This came as many Malaysians were enjoying a long weekend, with Monday, June 1, being the Yang di-Pertuan Agong’s birthday public holiday, followed by the Hari Raya Haji replacement holiday on Tuesday, June 2.
Many thought everyone would only return later
A Threads user posted photos of vehicles heading from Bentong towards Gombak, showing heavy traffic near the toll area.
In the caption, the user wrote in Malay that they initially thought people from the East Coast would only return to KL later, since the holiday was not over yet.
However, the road was already packed.
“That’s the traffic update for the Bentong to Gombak toll route,” the user wrote, while sharing the traffic update.
Other road users said they faced the same thing
The post soon drew comments from other Malaysians who were also surprised by the early congestion.
One user said many people likely had the same assumption that others would only return on Monday or Tuesday.
“Nope, everyone thought the same and returned today,” the user joked.
Another netizen said the Bentong toll area is already known to be congested even during normal periods, adding that it becomes “double trouble” during school holidays or festive seasons.
A few others also shared that traffic had already been bad the day before.
Some took alternative routes too
According to comments online, some drivers tried to avoid the highway by using alternative routes or old roads.
However, several netizens said these routes were also filled with cars, with some claiming that traffic moved very slowly along hilly roads.
One commenter joked that everyone’s “plan” to avoid the jam had ended up clashing with everyone else’s plan.
Not every route was bad
Still, some road users said they managed to avoid the worst of the congestion by travelling earlier in the morning.
One commenter shared that they passed Bentong at around 9:25am and Gombak at around 9:50am, describing the route as still calm at the time.
Long weekend rush
The traffic situation comes as many Malaysians travelled during the school holidays and long weekend.
While some expected the return traffic to peak closer to Monday or Tuesday, the online posts suggest that many had already started heading back to the Klang Valley earlier than expected.
Basically, everyone tried to beat the jam.
