TELUK INTAN: Villagers of Kampung Baru Palawan near Langkap here have suggested that the ‘jalan tikus’ (rat trails) in Ladang Bikam be turned into an alternative road for users of the North-South Expressway when the highway is congested, especially during festive seasons.
Lee Kim Chin, 65, one of the men assisting road users to beat the traffic jam by using the Ladang Bikam rat trails on the fourth day of Syawal, said it could also shorten the journey to Kuala Lumpur.
“Road users only need to travel about three kilometres before exiting onto the main road in Kuala Bikam heading south,” he told Bernama today.
Lee said the villagers were happy to open up the trail, a sandy and rocky route used only by lorries, four-wheel-drive vehicles, and motorcycles.
Another villager, Law Kian Ming, 52, said during the incident, his friends were having coffee at his coffee shop in the village at about 10 pm when they noticed many vehicles turning back.
“We used a backhoe belonging to a friend to level the route with sand but it couldn’t hold up for long and constantly need levelling. We even had to repair the road today,” he said.
Meanwhile, Lee Weng Foong, 52, said they did not expect the assistance provided by the villagers to go viral, adding that they offered help regardless of race and without expecting any rewards.
“As Malaysians, we must unite and help each other so that we can live in harmony,” he said.
A road user, Zairul Annuar Mohd Zain, 47, uploaded a video of him using the Ladang Bikam trail to return to Nilai, Negeri Sembilan on Saturday (April 13) after a group of villagers went out of their way to level the bumpy route so that regular vehicles could pass through.
Using the Google Maps application, Zairul Annuar said he tried to use internal routes from Gopeng to Ladang Bikam to return to Nilai after spending the Hari Raya holidays with relatives in Ipoh.
The video of the heartwarming incident went viral the next day.
