Why even bother?
Technorati tags: Humor, Police, Traffic, Traffic Jams, Kuala Lumpur, Hindraf Rally
Those of you living around KL would probably have experienced first-hand the mess that PDRM has created traffic-wise the past few days. They've set up road-blocks at various points of entry into the city.
Not so much road blocks, per se, but more like sieves with gigantic holes - big enough to let just about anyone through, but small enough to cause massive and unnecessary congestions.
While getting into KL is a bitch, the city itself is another story...
Where Walski works, he has to use part of Jalan Ampang (from the direction of Ampang town) to get onto the MRR2, on his way home. One of the roadblocks have been set up between the Elevated Highway on-ramp and the turn off to Ampang Point. Two lanes out of three have been blocked off, with the police standing by watching the resulting traffic snarl, and pretty much letting everyone thru.
The question Walski has is - why bother?
(possible reasons, and more, in the full post)
The other question would be: what the fuck are they looking for? Are they relying on racial profiling - like, if the occupants look poor and Indian - to stop vehicles? And what about buses and trains? Ok, ok... that was more than one question. And trains don't normally trverse Jalan Ampang.
More likely, the massive police presence is for no other reason but to plant fear into the public, and act as a deterrent against anyone even remotely thinking of supporting the Hindraf rally this Sunday. Not so much crime prevention (which they're pretty lousy at) - but intimidation (in which they excel).
Just like how the presence of riot police is an almost certain indication that a riot (or at least a messy fracas) will erupt - usually instigated by the riot police themselves, via their water cannons, and the occassional canister of tear gas. Fun, eh?
Speaking of the riot police, Walski knows that they've been mobilized into KL, en masse, at least since Monday, when Walski happened to see a whole squadron of riot police vehicles coming from the opposite direction, while he was driving to Kuantan. The only cool thing about the riot police are the snazzy knee-high leather boots they wear - uber cool, baby!
Today, Walski is writing this short post while sitting at the Starbucks, at the corner of Jalan Raja Chulan and Jalan P. Ramlee (see pix above) - and the one thing that has struck Walski as odd is the lack of traffic. On a Saturday. Granted it's mostly offices in this area, but he was definitely expecting a lot more traffic.
But back to the police blocks - what exactly are they aiming to achieve? They don't seem to be stopping hardly anyone. Other than give the impression that we are a police state, and in a state of emergency (which, technically speaking, we are in - via Aisehman.org), one really has to wonder...
Why bother?
