I was one of those caught in the worst ever traffic jam experienced in Malaysia due to the accident at the 223 kilometre of the Plus highway near Simpang Ampat, Malacca on Oct 10, where 12 people died in an express bus crash.

I left Kuala Lumpur at 11.40pm on Oct 10 and reached Tampin only at 4am on Oct 11. It took me more than four hours to reach my destination when I normally take only 90 minutes.

What infuriated me was that the accident happened around 6pm and almost 9 hours later, the jam was still evident. What happened to the Plus highway crisis task force? What happened to their coordination?

What happened to the radio station (it was Time Radio station during its inception) that was suppose to broadcast the highway situation for all vehicles? Where was the urgency?

I managed to call the police at the Central Malacca station who gave me the tragic news but it was too late for me to do anything as I was already on the highway near Pedas where the jam started.

This is not a question of cost but a case of human efficiency and leadership for coordination between the police, JPJ, fire brigade and other departments to ensure minimum inconvenience to all road users.

I hope Plus, the managers of the highway, gives a respond to the thousands of stranded motorists who were camping out at the emergency lane. Many were caught with their engines overheating, some had infants who were hungry, some ran out of fuel while others wanted to use wash rooms badly but the bush was the only option. It was a horrible, unprecedented sight in the wee hours of the morning.

Based on statistical data, Malaysia has one of the highest road accident rate and this has always been consistent. Shouldn't Plus Berhad plan ahead for such contingencies for disaster relief work? Much time was wasted on the road.

It is pathetic to know that we talk proudly of Vision 2020 but cannot even handle such a contingency. This gives the ordinary citizen the feeling that we need to kill this ‘Malaysian inertia’ or tidak apa attitude. I could not imagine the situation if it had rained heavily as lighting is prone in such areas.