Malaysians React to ‘Back-To-Work’ Traffic Jam—And it’s Intense

For the past couple of years, Malaysians have been accustomed to working from the comfort of their own homes, wearing the most comfortable clothes and surrounded by loved ones (pets and plants included).

But one of the best things about working from home is actually avoiding the rush hour traffic. For two years, most of us enjoyed utilizing the time we usually spend being stuck in traffic for quality time—be it exercising, cooking dinner together or even just enjoying tea time with our families and friends.

However, since most workforces are back in their offices, there was initially a sense of silent resentment toward the abrupt shift in the daily work routine. The dissatisfaction can slowly be seen through rantings on Twitter, specifically on the matter of traffic congestion.

My daughter sent me this. They (she and wife) stuck in massive traffic. We waste so much time in traffic. pic.twitter.com/avoFYcay6v

— Stupe (@tristupe) May 17, 2022

The rant did not stop there. The original tweet that garnered seven thousand retweets accidentally called upon more Malaysians to share their thoughts and experiences on the matter. Twitter user @masjulia uploaded footage of traffic congestion as early as 6:40AM.

Ni lepas tol batu 11 cheras, 6.40pagi. Gila. pic.twitter.com/yJ9bqYUCGF

— masjuju ? (@_masjulia) May 17, 2022

Another Twitter user, @kamalitaewon showed a video of horrendous traffic even past 8pm near his home, expressing his frustrations on major cons of commuting to work.

Allahu tak dapat bayangkan betapa stress nya mental…kalau office hour punya working balik kerja let say 5:30pm/6pm.. ni dekat 8malam macam ni pun belum sampai rumah bersesak sesak jamm nye…hari² hadap macam ni diorang..esok keluar awal pagi lagi…serius boleh mental breakdown? pic.twitter.com/Ve6LudvkWz

— MK? (카말)~me is retired IT guy. (@kamalitaewon) May 19, 2022

According to @nshxxx96. It took her two hours to commute to work due to the overpouring traffic recently.

House - office 30km. But today it took me 2 hours to reach despite leaving my house at 7.30am for a 10am shift ??? it's just getting worse day by day https://t.co/j26Q5a4ahK

— ✨ (@nshxxx96) May 18, 2022

The worsening traffic was initially a good sight to see as it marks the return of various industries in the later quarters of 2020. With the major push to digitalize jobs as well as significant changes in the job market, Malaysians saw WFH culture as an ideal part of their day-to-day work routine.

Despite that, there were voices from multiple sides of the industry calling for the full and permanent return to offices. Understandably, it is more practical for businesses to have their employees back under one roof.

In exploring this new redefinition of the employment landscape, is it fair for all parties to abruptly shift to the ‘older’ normal? What do you think? Submit your thoughts to us through the DMs of our Instagram and Facebook.