DESPERATE times require desperate measures. This is what people do to go back to their kampung and hometowns for Hari Raya Aidilfitri this time round.
It is ironic that many Malay-sians, who have up to now been law-abiding citizens, suddenly have the urge to be in their hometowns despite the restrictions.
Yes, all of a sudden, they miss home and want to be in Kodiang in Kedah or Kuala Krai, Kelantan simply because it's Hari Raya. The festive mood is in the air, definitely.
What's Hari Raya without being with parents and loved ones? What's Hari Raya if they can't feast on rendang and ketupat prepared by their mother, who puts her heart and soul into the delectable dishes?
And what's Hari Raya celebrations without looking forward to that familiar camaraderie in reunions with relatives and friends?
The journey home must be done, by hook or by crook.
"I have to be back home, no matter what" sort of a statement and attitude.
So the whole family pack their bags and make the trip, believing the authorities will allow them to go through on the basis of compassion, only to be frustrated when they are turned away and told by the police to return home. Stay put; celebrate Raya where you are, police say.
Some thought they could use 'laluan tikus' or rat trails with stopovers at their friends' or relatives' homes to break their fast.
Almost all were unsuccessful in reaching their hometowns up north, down south and the east coast due to roadblocks at exits out of Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and big cities.
Every nook and cranny is blocked by the police.
For a moment there, I thought only foreigners resorted to using rat trails.
Defence Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob on Friday said 2,539 people were turned away by the police, and scores of motorists were slapped with compounds for flouting the Conditional Movement Control Order.
He said the police had set up 149 interstate roadblocks with 271,646 vehicles checked.
It is sad though to learn of the pregnant woman who travelled from Ampang to her hometown in Kelantan and tested positive for Covid-19.
She was alleged to have broken fast with her grandparents before travelling back to her parents' home.
Despite interstate travel being barred during the CMCO, some 1,300 people queued up at the Kuantan district police headquarters on Wednesday to get permission to travel to their hometowns.
Meanwhile, there have been reports of traffic crawls in highways and federal routes as thousands try to return to their hometowns despite the movement control order. Oh, why lah?
C'est la vie.
The writer, a former NST journalist, is now a film scriptwriter whose penchant is finding new food haunts in the country
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times