THE tranquillity of Jalan Mesra Ria in Sri Petaling, Kuala Lumpur, is shattered by the thunderous roar of modified cars almost every night from 11pm until the early hours of the morning.
The once-quiet road has been transformed into a racetrack with the deafening sound of revving modified engines disturbing the peace of those living near the main road.
The problem, residents said, has been going on for months.
A car pictured racing on Jalan Mesra Ria in Sri Petaling late at night. — Photos: MUHAMAD SHAHRIL ROSLI and LOW LAY PHON/The Star
“We have lodged reports with the Road Transport Department (JPJ) and the police, registered our complaints on Kuala Lumpur City Hall’s (DBKL) website and written to Seputeh MP Teresa Kok,” said resident Crystal Yoong.
When the problem persisted, she got so frustrated that she confronted the culprits and asked them to stop using the residential road for racing.
“I told them it was affecting our mental and physical health, yet they continued to race.”
Yoong: The standard response is ‘this is not our jurisdiction’.
She said the culprits lived elsewhere but congregated at a nearby restaurant.
They are seen leaving in groups and speeding along Jalan Mesra Ria, repeatedly revving their engines.
“We are often jolted awake by the noise of the cars as they zoom past,” said Christopher Chen, another resident who lives nearby.
“We are not getting enough sleep, and it is affecting our health,” he lamented.
Another resident, Hong See, said that after many complaints, JPJ officers set up a roadblock but this failed to deter the culprits.
He said another issue was over unclear enforcement authority because Jalan Mesra Ria was located between the jurisdiction of two police stations.
During a site visit on a weekday by StarMetro, about 20 different modified cars, some with dual exhaust pipes, were observed parked along inner roads around Jalan Mesra Ria.
At around 11pm, the drivers, mostly youths, got into their vehicles, started revving up their engines and one by one, drove to the end of Jalan Mesra Ria.
Within minutes, the cars could be seen racing down the road at high speed.
Some vehicles’ engines sounded like gunshots and explosions.
When contacted, Kok said illegal racing was a police matter and should be handled by the authority.
She plans to bring up the matter with Kuala Lumpur mayor Datuk Seri Kamarulzaman Mat Salleh at a Kuala Lumpur MPs’ meeting.
“We will get DBKL to instal speed bumps along the road to slow down traffic,” said Kok.
A DBKL officer from the Urban Transport Department urged residents to write to the department about installing speed bumps, adding that the department would then determine the best solution to the problem.
