Traffic slowed and became congested on major highways across Malaysia from around 6 pm on August 29 as holiday travel picked up with school holidays and the upcoming National Day, according to multiple reports [1, 2, 3].
Northbound routes experiencing heavy congestion included Sungai Buloh to Bukit Beruntung, Bukit Tagar to Lembah Beringin, Sungkai to Simpang Pulai, Changkat Jering to Taiping Utara, Bukit Merah to Bandar Baharu, and Permatang Pauh to Bertam [1, 2, 3]. Southbound bottlenecks were reported from Bangi to Southville and Nilai Utara to Pedas Linggi [1, 2, 3].
On the East Coast, traffic was slow from Gombak Toll Plaza to Genting Sempah, Lentang to Bentong, with further delays from Lanchang to Temerloh caused by flood mitigation repair works [1, 2, 3]. Meanwhile, West Coast Expressway traffic remained smooth and controlled [1, 2, 3].
By 9 pm, congestion persisted on multiple expressways. Northbound slow zones had expanded to include Gopeng to Simpang Pulai, Sungkai to Bidor, Bukit Beruntung to Bukit Tagar, Bertam to Sungai Petani Utara, and Sungai Dua to Bertam [4]. Southbound delays included Seremban to Senawang and Nilai to Seremban, with a traffic slowdown caused by an accident at KM425.4 on the North-South Expressway (PLUS) [4].
Traffic on the Kuala Lumpur-Karak Expressway also remained slow from Gombak to Genting Sempah at 9 pm without any reported accidents [4].
The Malaysian Highway Authority urged drivers to plan journeys carefully, maintain vehicles, and monitor traffic updates. A spokesman said, “We advise highway users to plan their holiday journeys, and for those who have just set off, to be patient and drive carefully. Drive safely, save lives.” [1, 2, 4, 3]
The authority expects the heavy congestion to continue until midnight due to ongoing holiday travel [4].
