Jangankan masuk ke lorong kecemasan, kenderaan pun sukar bergerak.

Jangankan is a very useful Malay word meaning let alone, much less, or not to mention.

It introduces something that is already difficult or impossible, and then the speaker says that even a more basic thing is also difficult.

So in this sentence:

Jangankan masuk ke lorong kecemasan, kenderaan pun sukar bergerak.

the idea is:

Let alone getting into the emergency lane, even vehicles can hardly move.

It creates a strong contrast and emphasis.

This is a common emphatic pattern in Malay.

Basic pattern:

Jangankan X, Y pun Z.

Meaning:

Let alone X, even Y Z.

In this structure:

• X = something the speaker says is out of the question
• Y = something more basic or expected
• pun = adds the sense of even
• Z = what happens or is true

In your sentence:

• X = masuk ke lorong kecemasan
• Y = kenderaan
• Z = sukar bergerak

So the logic is:

• Forget about entering the emergency lane
• Even the vehicles themselves can barely move

Because ke is used for direction or movement toward a place, while di is used for location.

• masuk ke lorong kecemasan = enter/go into the emergency lane
• di lorong kecemasan = in/at the emergency lane

Since masuk involves movement into somewhere, ke is the natural choice.

Compare:

• Saya pergi ke sekolah. = I go to school.
• Saya di sekolah. = I am at school.

Lorong means lane, and kecemasan means emergency.

So lorong kecemasan means emergency lane, often referring to the hard shoulder or emergency lane on a highway.

Malay often puts nouns together like this:

• lorong kecemasan = emergency lane
• bilik tidur = bedroom
• kad pengenalan = identity card

The second word often functions like a modifier.

Here, pun adds emphasis and is best understood as even.

So:

kenderaan pun sukar bergerak

means:

even vehicles can hardly move or vehicles themselves can hardly move

It makes the statement stronger.

A useful thing to remember:

• pun often adds emphasis
• in many contexts, it can mean even, also, or give a sense like at all

In this sentence, even is the best fit.

In Malay, nouns often do not need a special plural form. A bare noun can be singular or plural depending on context.

So kenderaan can mean:

• a vehicle
• vehicles

Here, because the sentence is talking about traffic in general, kenderaan is naturally understood as vehicles.

Malay often leaves number to context:

• Ada kereta di luar. = There is a car / there are cars outside.
• Ramai orang datang. = Many people came.

If Malay wants to clearly mark plural, it can use reduplication:

• kenderaan-kenderaan

But in normal speech, that is often unnecessary.

Malay often leaves out subjects when they are obvious, general, or unimportant.

In English, we often want an explicit subject like:

• we
• drivers
• people
• they

But Malay can simply say:

Jangankan masuk ke lorong kecemasan, kenderaan pun sukar bergerak.

without naming the person or people involved.

The meaning is understood from context: this is a general statement about the traffic situation.

This kind of omission is very common and natural in Malay.

Both are possible.

• sukar bergerak = difficult to move
• sukar untuk bergerak = difficult to move

Malay often omits untuk when the meaning is already clear, especially in short, natural sentences.

So sukar bergerak sounds concise and natural here.

A similar comparison:

• Mudah faham. = Easy to understand.
• Mudah untuk faham. = Also possible, but slightly fuller.

In many cases, the version without untuk sounds smoother.

Yes, susah bergerak could be used, and it would still make sense.

But there is a slight nuance:

• sukar = more formal, slightly more standard in writing
• susah = more common in everyday conversation

So:

• kenderaan pun sukar bergerak sounds a bit more formal or written
• kenderaan pun susah bergerak sounds more conversational

Both are correct.

Literally, bergerak means to move.

In this sentence, because the topic is traffic, it refers to vehicles being unable to move forward properly. In natural English, that could be:

• move
• get moving
• make progress
• drive forward

So it does not specifically mean to drive in the sense of operating a vehicle; it means the vehicles cannot really move along because traffic is too bad.

It has a somewhat rhetorical and emphatic feel because of jangankan ... pun ....

That structure is used to stress how bad the situation is.

So the tone is something like:

• It’s so bad that...
• Forget about X — even Y is difficult.

It could appear in:

• conversation
• news-style reporting
• written commentary

The sentence is natural Malay, but it is not flat or neutral; it is deliberately emphatic.

Not very naturally. A word-for-word version would sound awkward.

Roughly word by word:

• Jangankan = let alone
• masuk ke = enter into
• lorong kecemasan = emergency lane
• kenderaan pun = even vehicles
• sukar bergerak = are difficult to move / can hardly move

A more natural English rendering would be something like:

• Let alone getting into the emergency lane, even vehicles could hardly move.
• Forget about entering the emergency lane; even the traffic could barely move.

So the meaning can be translated, but the exact structure should usually be adapted into natural English.