S’pore BMW Club Draws Ire After Convoy was Seen Hogging Penang Road in M’sia

Last Updated on 2023-06-15 , 9:59 am

One of the worst first-world problems to deal with is an excruciatingly long traffic jam, especially when it’s caused by an inconsiderate driver.

Or rather, a horde of inconsiderate drivers.

Just a few days ago, a convoy of cars belonging to members of the Singapore BMW Car Club were filmed hogging a road in Malaysia, drawing the ire of drivers and netizens. 

This really does lend credibility to the age-old jokes about BMW drivers.

Convoy Obstructed Penang Highway

On 10 June, a video of the incident was uploaded on the Facebook page We Are Malaysians.

The clip showed a convoy of cars blocking the highway, Penang Bridge, as they made their way to their destination. 

The drivers of the cars were part of the Singapore BMW Car Club, and they were on their way to a club event called BMW Mega Meet 2023 @ Penang.

In the video, the cars can be seen hogging all three lanes of the bridge, including the emergency lane. The convoy, much like an infinity pool, stretches on seemingly to eternity. 

The two men in the video are understandably frustrated by this, and complain audibly in Malay throughout. 

According to the description of the Facebook post, the convoy of cars blocked the whole bridge and resulted in an hour-long traffic jam.

The incident drew the ire of netizens, who slammed the drivers for being inconsiderate in the comments section of the post. Many even urged for a police report to be filed against the drivers.

The viral video has amassed more than 42,000 views so far.

A comment even referenced disgraced comedian Jocelyn Chia, who also caught flak recently when she made insensitive jokes about Malaysians and the MH370 disappearance.

 BMW Club Issued Apology

In response to the accusations, the Singapore BMW Car Club took to Facebook to issue an apology.

Their apology acknowledged their “mistake”, and they “reassured” everyone of their commitment to compliance with the local authorities.

They also informed netizens that they took “full responsibility” for their “oversight”, and the situation has now been rectified with the local authorities.

“Moving forward, we are implementing additional measures to enhance our processes to ensure better control,” they wrote, promising “continuous improvement”.

They ended the apology by…well, apologising again.

It’s a pretty standard apology, to their credit. It has all the parts a cookie-cutter apology letter needs—an acknowledgement of mistake, a show of responsibility, and a promise of improvement. 

Considering comments on the post are restricted, however, they probably still weren’t expecting an enthusiastic response.

Drivers Were Summoned By Police

The drivers in the convoy actually got samaned by the Malaysian police, after a police report was lodged against them.

According to a Facebook post by the district police, an investigation was opened under Malaysia’s road traffic act for obstruction of traffic.

The drivers involved were given summons, and all were present at police headquarters on 11 June, 12.10 am.