MYSTERY: KIA OPTIMA AT JALAN BENTONG LAMA

This is one of the most famous Karak Highway ghost stories — the Kereta Misteri Kia Optima.

Here’s what actually got reported and why it became legend around Bentong:

The discovery

• Where: KM 35.4 Lebuhraya Karak, near the Genting Sempah tunnel heading towards KL. The car is believed to have fallen from Jalan Bentong Lama, Batu 18 — about 100 metres down into the ravine/mud below the highway.
• How found: Tow truck driver Wong Kam Wai, 31, found it at about 3pm while he was recovering another car — a Satria Neo that had skidded at the same KM 35.4 spot.
• The car: A silver/grey Kia Optima, worth more than RM100,000 at the time. Keys were still inside, engine off.

Why it became a mystery

Police checked it, and it made no sense:

Ketua Polis Daerah Gombak, Asisten Komisioner Abdul Rahim Abdullah, said, "Kalau berlaku kemalangan, mesti pembahagi jalan sudah remuk seperti dilanggar. Jika ada jenayah mesti ada mangsa di sekitarnya."

Translation: 

• No crash marks — the road divider / guardrail on top of Jalan Bentong Lama, Batu 18 showed no damage, with no sign of a car breaking through.
• No victims — no bodies in or around the car, despite the 100m drop.
• No crime scene either.

Police at the time ruled out accident and crime elements — “polis menolak wujudnya unsur jenayah atau kemalangan yang boleh dikaitkan dengan penemuan kereta itu".

The part that made it legendary

When they tried to pull it out, the tow failed in a weird way:

“Apabila di pertengahan, dua buah kembalik yang mengangkatnya tiba-tiba mengalami masalah mekanikal dan kerosakan pada sistem hidrolik. Ketika itu, kereta ini hanya beberapa meter sebelum sampai di tepi tembok lebuhraya.”

Both cranes suffered hydraulic failure mid-lift. The second crane was brought in — same failure. Finally, they had to leave it:

“Akhirnya, kereta misteri ini terpaksa disemadikan semula di bawah jambatan tersebut.”

Locals say it is still "buried" down there.

Connection to the other Karak legend

That Bentong/Karak area already has the famous DJ radio call story — the caller who said:

“Mak saya mati, anak saya mati, isteri saya mati, dan saya pun mati..."

The story goes a grey Kia Optima was found under the bridge at Jalan Bentong Lama Batu 18, fell 100 m, had no crash marks on top, had no bodies inside, had keys still inside, and tow efforts failed, so it was left buried.

Because that story circulated around the same time as the THR/ERA late-night horror segment, people merged the two—the unexplainable Kia became proof of the call.

So today when people in Malaysia say "Misteri Kia Optima Bentong", they mean that silver Optima that fell without a trace of how, had no driver, and could not be lifted — classic Karak Highway lore, listed alongside the Yellow VW Beetle and the bus tickets that turn into leaves.

You drive through that stretch often? That KM 35-40 Bentong Lama to Genting Sempah is the hotspot for all 8 of those stories.

Other readings:

1. Orang Kata My: Lima Kisah Misteri yang menghantui Lebuhraya Karak sehingga ke hari ini..
2. Beautiful Nara : 8 Kisah Seram di Karak yang masih menghantui Pengguna lebuhraya Karak. 
3. Terengganu11.com: 'Mak saya mati, anak saya mati, isteri saya mati dan saya pun mati.'

Hj Zulheimy Maamor

16 Oktober 2026: 11:14 a.m.