Malaysian Roads are riddled with Danger and...Animals

There was bit of commotion on the Penang Bridge yesterday morning when almost 20 cars and motorcycles ran over sharp pieces of metal that were strewn along the island-bound lane. The motorists stopped their vehicles, causing a short traffic jam, while workers hurried to clear the dangerous detritus, which was believed to have fallen off a lorry.

It has to be stated that it was believed to be an undeliberate “littering”, because in Malaysia, it is not uncommon for syndicates to orchestrate accidents or damage to vehicles, only for a “mechanic” to conveniently appear and charge exorbitant prices to help you.

Of course some of the motorists whose tyres were punctured while crossing the bridge yesterday are asking for compensation from the highway concessionaire, PLUS Highway.

And while you're at it, why don't you sue gravity as well?

While this may seem like an unnewsworthy story, and no one really got hurt, it amuses us because just about two weeks ago, something else appeared on the Penang Bridge that caused traffic to slow down. The distraction was in the form of poultry - a rooster, to be exact - which caused a stir simply because the state of Penang, at least the areas at the two ends of the bridge, are largely metropolitan, so the wandering chicken must have escaped from someone's backyard farm, had travelled a long journey from a distant poultry farm or fallen off a poultry-transporting lorry.

To the bridge workers' credit, they did try to rescue the rooster, but as it attempted to cut across traffic, it was hit and killed it. As one newspaper report put it rather bleakly, "The rooster never found out what was on the other side of the bridge."

Malaysian motorists have had to share the roads with stray animals of late. In two separate incidents in June, an ostrich was seen bolting down the Federal Highway and a horse was videotaped unbridled and galloping freely down a highway in Kelantan.

Neither of these animals are indigenous nor do they run wild in Malaysia, if you don't know much about the birthplace of Automology. The ostrich was being transported back to the farm where its owner had bought it, when it leapt out of the window; the runaway bird has since been caught and relocated to a new (farm)home where visitors can visit the one-time viral social media sensation. The horse probably escaped from one of the stables in in Pasir Pekan, and its fate is unknown. We hope that it has found a nice meadow where it can graze in peace.

This leaves us wondering, what next? Please please please let it be a zebra at a zebra crossing.