KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysians are preparing to hit the roads to celebrate Hari Raya Aidilfitri in their home towns at the end of March, with the annual journey causing the nation’s highways to turn into a sea of vehicles.
With the holiday coinciding with Qing Ming, which falls on April 4, the congestion to rush out of Kuala Lumpur and the Klang Valley area could be worse in 2025, as Chinese Malaysians are expected to join Malay Muslims to “balik kampung” (return home).
Other big cities with large numbers of interstate workers such as Johor Bahru would also see a mass exodus of vehicles.
Sales executive Mohd Hafiz Rahman, 38, who works in KL, is preparing to be stuck for hours on the road when he drives with his wife and three kids on March 28 to Batu Pahat, 250km in the south.
“We plan to be on the road by 3am because that’s usually the only time when traffic is moving,” he said, adding that he is stocking his car with snacks, bottles of water and wet wipes. The journey, which normally takes around three hours, can take twice as long during peak season.
More than 2.2 million vehicles are expected to hit the road between March 27 and March 29, according to highway operator Plus Malaysia. The country is slated to celebrate Hari Raya on March 31, though Islamic officials will confirm the actual date pending the sighting of the new moon on March 30.
Qing Ming, also known as Tomb Sweeping Day, [is a traditional Chinese festival observed to honour the dead,](https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/paying-respects-during-qing-ming-avoid-these-peak-dates-says-nea) where families visit the graves of their ancestors to clean the tombstones and pay respect.
The reverse flow of traffic, as everyone drives back to the big cities, will occur from April 4 to 6. The volume of traffic expected during this period is more than 20 per cent higher than on regular days.
Logistics operation manager Muhammad Rajesh Kumar Abdullah, 35, who also works in KL, will be driving back to Parit Buntar in Perak.
“We usually leave right after Subuh (dawn prayer) to avoid the mid-morning congestion. I prepare a cooler with drinks and kueh, keep a few power banks ready, and make sure the car is in good condition,” he told The Straits Times.
Madam Ruhaiza Kasmuri, director of sales at a hotel in Selangor, said she is planning to leave for her home town Johor Bahru on the morning of March 29 around 7am to avoid the jam, as many of her friends are planning to travel on March 28 or March 30.
“Actually I am worried about the jam. That’s why I am not travelling too early or too late,” she told ST. If there is no jam, the journey takes her three hours.
“Last year, I departed from JB at 11am but I reached KL at 9pm. I had to use old inner roads to get home,” she said.
The Klang Valley – Malaysia’s most developed region, includes capital city Kuala Lumpur, the administrative city of Putrajaya and Selangor districts that surround KL – has a population of some nine million people. Most of the Muslims are expected to drive out to celebrate Hari Raya with their parents and siblings in their villages and home towns.
Plus is deploying 5,000 personnel to keep things running smoothly, including setting up dozens of additional portable toilets at key rest areas, and boosting other services to ease the load on weary travellers. Plus operates the country’s longest highway, the 748km North-South Expressway.
The annual Hari Raya trips – with a smaller mass exodus during Chinese New Year and Christmas – will tax some 30 highway concessionaires to the limit, with each company coordinating with the police and civil defence to ensure everyone will get to their destination safely.
Another highway operator, AFA Prime, which operates the Kuala Lumpur-Karak and East Coast Expressway Phase 1 highways, connecting the Klang Valley to major towns in the East Coast, are expecting daily traffic volumes to surge by 70 and 83 per cent, respectively. The company is boosting its workforce by 21 per cent during the period, by deploying more mobile patrol units and ensuring emergency services are on standby round the clock.
AFA Prime is also teaming up with the Malaysian Relief Agency to distribute 2,000 food packages on March 27 for travellers to break their fast at the Gombak toll plaza before drivers enter the Karak highway to head to Pahang, Terengganu and Kelantan states.
Some videos have promoted on social media the use of a new highway connecting the Klang Valley to these three states. But the highway concessionaire of the Lingkaran Tengah Utama Expressway warned commuters that the route will be ready only in August 2025.
Works Minister Alexander Nanta Linggi cautioned travellers on March 22 that this project is still under construction after fake news emerged online that it had been completed. He said highway users will enjoy a 50 per cent toll discount from March 28 to 29.
Datuk Seri Nanta said the decision to reduce tolls by half, which would cost the government RM19.69 million (S$5.9 million) in compensation payments to all toll concessionaires, was made during a Cabinet meeting on March 26. It will apply to only Class 1 private vehicles – standard cars and SUVs – at all toll plazas, except border toll plazas.
Looking ahead, highway concessionaires are hoping to implement a barrier-less toll system as part of efforts to ease congestion. This means that toll plazas will not be needed in the future, with vehicle licence plates read using automated number plate recognition technology, already used in many shopping malls here. The details on how highway users will be charged are being worked out.
Plus is currently carrying out trials and aiming for implementation by late 2025 or early 2026, an industry source told ST. Public trials for Plus’ system are expected to begin as soon as April 2025. Several other highways are also planning to trial the system.
Inspired by Singapore’s well-established Electronic Road Pricing system, the upcoming Multi-Lane Free Flow system promises to smoothen the toll process, allowing vehicles to pass through toll points without stopping.
* Hazlin Hassan is Malaysia correspondent at The Straits Times.
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