driving in malaysia (1)



i first drove into malaysia in my first new car - a daihatsu charade. it was a few months after i got my driving licence. i went with my former balestier hill secondary colleague, mc wong. he had his family, comprising his wife and his two young children, in his car, also a charade.

we were a bit cautious in our driving on the outward journey, towards kuala lumpur and then penang. the north-south highway was not in existence then; we used the trunk road. but on our homeward journey, we were so confident of our cars that we were overtaking every car in sight. of course, the faster cars were out of our sight. those that were going below 120 km/hr were those within our sight. we even overtook a porshe driven by a lady.

subsequently. i have driven in malaysia many times, either with friends, colleagues or on my own. and we do drive above the speed limits at times but, up to now, - touch wood - i have not collected a single speeding ticket in malaysia.

my former principal - who is now a superintendent - took to driving into malaysia after hearing so much about my experiences. he has since gone on self drive holidays in malaysia and new zealand. the first time he drove to kuala lumpur, he collected two tickets.

i have heard stories of how the malaysian police indiscriminately book singapore cars for speeding. i do not know how far this is true because, so far, i feel that i have not been discriminated against because of my 'singapore' registration plate. the last trip when i drove to kluang, i saw the police flagging down a few malaysian cars and two singapore cars for speeding.

how did i escape the dragnet? i knew that there could be a speed trap ahead because the signs were there. some vehciles travelling in the opposite direction had been flashing their head-lights.