The first day of interstate travel for applicants of Gerak Malaysia to return home after being stranded at various locations in Kuala Lumpur following enforcement of the Movement Control Order (MCO) saw smooth flow of traffic on major expressways and at toll plazas leaving out of the federal capital.

A spokesperson for the Malaysian Highway Authority said it expects 300,000 vehicles to use its expressways during the interstate movement from today until Sunday.

“This morning, the major expressways like the PLUS Expressway, East Coast Highway (LPT) 1 and LPT2, as well as the Kuala Lumpur-Karak Expressway (KLK) was still smooth moving and no congestion was reported.

“However, we expect traffic volume to increase in the afternoon or after the breaking of fast,” he said when contacted today.

Meanwhile, checks by Bernama found traffic movement at the northbound Jalan Duta Toll Road, southbound Sungai Besi Toll Plaza and at Gombak Toll Plaza heading towards the east coast was smooth until 1 pm.

It is also found that most of the motorists started their journey after 10 am, which is after peak hour.

One of the motorists met at the Jalan Duta Toll Plaza, Hayati Roslan, 37, said she was stranded in Kuala Lumpur and was returning to Baling, Kedah.

“I did as advised by the authorities, to ensure sufficient balance in my Touch’n Go card and have filled my fuel tank for the journey, which is expected to take five hours.

“I also brought along some light food for the breaking of fast,” she added.

As of yesterday, a total of 143,516 applications through the Gerak Malaysia application have been approved by the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) for those seeking to return home to their respective home states. - BERNAMA