The Annual Grand Logjam

Without fail the highways in Peninsula Malaysia are the equivalent of the logjam in the temperate country's timber industry where rivers are filled with round lumber which have been felled and allowed to flow with the current to the timber depot. Come Hari Raya Aidilfitri or Chinese New Year our toll operator, PLUS will be coming out with their travel advisory urging motorists to depart to their destinations in accordance with the recommended travel times. It seemed it worked during last year's long weekend after Chinese New Year, but somehow it didn't happen to work this year's Hari Raya Balik Kampong rush. So true to form, Malaysian drivers are the rudest, most ill-disciplined and inconsiderate people in the world. Well, we should also go down in the Guinness Book of Record that we have amongst the highest fatalities due to road accidents in the world. One particular year I remember that the PM himself bemoaned the fact that we have the infamous world record and he's at a loss what needed to be done. Despite the fact that a Road Safety Department had been established with branches in every State, but there had been no marked improvement in Safety on all roads, especially during festivities. My way of finding a solution is rather simple. Just reverse the flow. Instead of city-folks emptying their abode come the festival days, why not just stay put and let those from the Kampongs come to the cities and towns. After all there are not many who have old folks in their Kampongs anymore, and soon even the Kampongs would not carry the nostalgic landmarks which reminded many city dwellers of their roots. It's not necessary to feed their psychological attachment to their birthplace because we have become nerds and geeks especially with the rise of cybercities which makes life just a few clicks away. The problem is that we are told that we should revive the ties that bind us to our relatives in the Kampongs. So be it, but can't we transport them to come to the cities. How we should do it is to be worked out, but the change in mental attitude must be embedded in our psyche first. The adverts depicting that we could only be filial sons or daughters by making the drive back to our ancestral villages got to stop forthwith. Otherwise people tend to believe what is bandied about on TV and other medium. I do hope change can be carried out imperceptibly without fanfare, and it must start first with our penchant for "Balik Kampong" and it should be replaced by " Pergi Bandar ". I don't think the reverse flow is as big a logjam compared to the rush to the kampongs.