by Ahmad Abd Hamid
The East-West Highway (E-W Highway) or Lebuh Raya Timur Barat (LRTB) connecting Gerik (previously Grik) in Perak and Jeli in Kelantan, was opened to the public in July 1982, three years before I tied the knot with my sweetheart, who hails from Felda Bersia in Gerik.
Being located close to the Malaysian-Thai border and situated in a “security area” then meant several measures and procedures had to be taken to ensure the safety of construction workers and equipment during the construction period.
The Felda settlement, opened in 1963, was one of the earliest in Malaysia and located about four kilometres from Gerik town. To reach the place, one had to pass through a portion of the highway.
Before the existence of the highway, people would use ‘jalan kampung’. Although the E-W Highway was opened in 1982, the use of the 125 km-highway then was restricted for security reasons until restrictions were lifted in 1989.
In the 1970s and early 1980s, Gerik and the neighbouring towns of Kroh (Pengkalan Hulu), also in Perak, and Baling in Kedah were considered as ‘black areas’ due to the Communist threat.
For that reason, travelling along the highway from Gerik to Jeli and vice versa was not permitted after 6 pm. No vehicle could enter the highway after the deadline. The only exception was for those who travel from Gerik to Felda Bersia, mostly settlers going back home after an outing in town.
To ensure that this restriction was adhered to, there was an army post at the Sungai Rui Camp in the upper part of Gerik. If you entered the highway on the dot at 6pm or after, the sentry at the post would ask where you were heading to. If the intention was travelling beyond Felda Bersia, motorists would be instructed to turn back.
One couldn’t be too smart or try to fool the soldiers by saying that you were going to Felda Bersia when actually you wanted to travel further up to Jeli. This was because further up, just after the junction to Felda Bersia, there was another army post, with barbed wires laid across the road. You’d have no choice but to turn back and come back the next day!
The safety of the people was the main reason travelling was not allowed at night on the E-W Highway. The Communist terrorists were still a big threat then in the early 1980s as they lurked in the darkness of the night. The soldiers manning the posts were also strict in inspecting vehicles to determine whether they carried contraband items that could be used by the terrorists in the jungle.
Besides the Communists, there was also another threat, and still a threat today: elephants! The areas near the highway are their playgrounds and hunting spaces.
So, at times you could come across a herd of elephants crossing the highway slowly. Motorists had to stop and give way. Although that might lengthen the travelling time, the mighty jumbos ruled over there.
You might also come across elephants resting right on the highway at night. Never ever try to blast your horn and hope to chase them away. They might be startled and charge at you. No problem at all for an elephant to overturn your vehicle together with the passengers inside. Don’t even try to hurry them.
For most of us motorists, the E-W Highway is simply to facilitate our journey, especially from northern Peninsula Malaysia to the East Coast, in particular, Kelantan. People from Perlis, Kedah, Penang and northern Perak head towards the East Coast by using the highway. No need to travel down south first like it used to be.
Before the East-West Highway was built, a journey from Alor Setar to Kota Bharu may take over 1,000 km! The highway has certainly shortened the distance by about several hundred kilometres as Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed, a former MP who has brought much progress to Jeli, would attest. His father even had to take a train from Tumpat into Thailand to reach Padang Besar for work during the paddy harvesting season in Kedah after the paddy plants had been planted in Kelantan because the two states practised two different planting seasons!
Come to think of it, the E-W Highway is actually a symbol of the commitment and sacrifice of earlier generations for the convenience and benefit of the current generation. Construction that took 12 long years was often filled with stories of sacrifice, difficulty, suffering, challenges and of course, tears.
The Public Works Department (PWD) or Jabatan Kerja Raya (JKR) started construction in 1970. It was not easy to construct the highway through terrains, swamps, jungle or even mountainous areas. Also, road construction technology then was not as advanced as now.
The construction of the first phase of the highway was carried out by JKR workers themselves while the bridges and some of the ancillary works were carried out through contractors. During the second phase, the entire construction was done by contractors.
Constructing the highway was never plain sailing for the JKR as there were many constraints, which slowed down progress. Some 27.5 million cubic metres of earth was required to be cut to construct the highway. Of this, more than 3.8 million cubic metres were rocks, which required drilling and blasting operations for their removal. Hill cuts of more than 60m and valleys of over 100m deep, which required filling, were found at many locations.
The intensity of monsoon rains, especially in some areas, also reduced the time available for construction to only 10 months of a year!
The two-pronged strategies of the RM396 million E-W Highway were to shorten the travelling distance and time from north to east and vice versa, and more importantly, to curb the Communist menace, especially in the Gerik area. The Communist terrorists really gave workers a hard time and impeded the progress of the highway. Construction had to be under military surveillance at all times because the Communist sabotaged work by destroying equipment and even ambushing construction workers.
In one instance on May 23, 1974, a total of 63 bulldozers were blown away and destroyed. The attack took place from 8 o’clock at night until the next morning. Another ambush took place on Aug 27 in the same year. Three PWD workers (Ismail, Husin and Ali) were killed and some of them were wounded. They were travelling in a lorry from their base camp in Gerik to Banding, escorted by a military truck, when they were fired upon.
Restrictions on using the highway were fully lifted in 1989 with the signing of a peace accord in Hatyai, Thailand when the Communist Party of Malaya agreed to end its armed struggle. Now, everyone can pass through the highway peacefully at any time of the day.
These days, as you pass along the highway, you’d be able to enjoy the scenic beauty of the mountainous terrain and especially near Banding Lake. Amidst the cool and pleasant weather, the highway is one of the more scenic routes in Peninsula Malaysia due to its hilly terrain. It passes through two major mountain ranges, the Bintang Range and Titiwangsa Range.
You’d also come across memorials related to the construction of the highway in the Banding rest area. There’s also a Dataran Juang (Juang Square) at Kem Sri Banding, where the names of 116 soldiers who had died fighting the terrorists are on display.
So, when you travel on the highway next, do spare a thought for those who had sacrificed their lives and made it possible for it to be constructed for our convenience today.
WE