WHILE the late fifth premier Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi who breathed his last at the National Heart Institute (IJN) at 7.10pm yesterday (April 14) has deservingly been accorded a state funeral, a National Day of Mourning for the 85-year-old statesman affably known as Pak Lah may have to be put on hold – momentarily.
As it is, expect Prine Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to juggle between paying his last respect to Pak Lah “who never added insult to injury at my lowest ebb in life” at the National Mosque prior to a burial at the Heroes’ Mausoleum after Zohor prayer before rushing off to Putrajaya to greet visiting Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Xi’s three-day state visit from today (April 15) to Thursday (April 17) is at the invitation of His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, King of Malaysia and forms part of his first tour of state visits in 2025 which also includes stops in Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia.
Touted as “The Most Powerful Man in the World” by authors Stefan Aust and Adrian Geiges for commanding over 1.4 billion people in a vast country that spans the prosperous megacities of Beijing and Shanghai to desperately poor, malnourished rural regions, the frenzy surrounding Xi’s visit is understandable.
Therefore, it should not be too demanding perhaps for Klang Valley folks to make little citizenry sacrifices for only 72 hours or so to ensure that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) general secretary feels welcomed and able to return home with fond memories of Malaysia.
With much-dreaded road closures which can easily bring traffic to a crawl being inevitable, it would make valid sense for KL-lites to make an effort to WFH (work from home) during that period.
Otherwise, they better be prepared to plan their travel time and routes with utmost precision lest bracing themselves for the inconvenience of getting caught in unimaginable traffic snarls.
Siapa kerja Lembah Klang & Putrajaya better plan laluan korang betul-betul sebab ada jalan yang ditutup untuk bagi laluan kat Presiden China datang melawat.
Plan perjalanan korang untuk elakkan mencarut di atas jalan raya.
Tengok bawah untuk senarai penutupan jalanraya pic.twitter.com/qSXFtOyieP
— Farid Affy (@faridaffy) April 14, 2025
For airport-bound travellers, bear in mind ghat there will be temporary road closures leading to KLIA with road access to KLIA T2 temporary disabled today (April 15) and Thursday (April 17) (passengers can access Terminal 2 via KLIA Transit from Terminal 1).
No road access to KLIA T2 Departures / Arrivals / Parking during these hours in conjunction of Chinese President visit:
Tuesday, April 15 ~ 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM
Thursday, April 17 ~ 8:50 AM to 9:50 AM
Again. No road access whatsoever. Take KLIA Transit/Express trains. https://t.co/WtK1Zz8KwG
— Hadi Azmi (@amerhadiazmi) April 14, 2025
To circumvent such hardship, the best way to get to the airport over the next three days is via the KLIA Transit/Express service from KL Sentral, of which the service provider has increased its service frequency to accommodate rising needs today (April 15) and on Thursday (April 17).
Service Update: Increased KLIA Transit Train Frequency
In light of road closures, KLIA Transit services between KL Sentral and KLIA have been increased to accommodate passenger needs on 15th and 17th April 2025. pic.twitter.com/dC88iw8rFr
— KLIA Ekspres (@KLIAekspres) April 14, 2025
A little on the trivial side is that apart from over 1,000 police personnel having been mobilised to beef up security in conjunction with Xi’s monumental visit, the police has shared the Chinese version of the ultra-elusive Hongqi N701 limo – an equivalent of the “The Beast” for US presidents.
According to the New Straits Times, the N701 is a heavily armoured state vehicle built by China’s luxury carmaker Hongqi – meaning “Red Flag” – and is used exclusively by the country’s top leaders. It is not available for public purchase. – April 15, 2025
