With the official reopening of borders between Singapore and Malaysia on 1 April, where vaccinated individuals are allowed to travel quarantine-free, without having to conduct pre-departure or post-arrival antigen rapid tests, you can already imagine how crowded it’s going to be.
Malaysians and Singaporeans who haven’t stepped on their homeland for years due to the pandemic have been waiting for this day.
Singaporeans who want first grabs for the cheap goods in Malaysia have their currency exchanged and petrol pumped.
To the customs officials and additional auxiliary police officers that have to deal with the tsunami wave of travellers after a long drought, and anyone who is going to put themselves through hours of traffic jams, we salute you!
1,600 Additional Police Officers Stationed at Borders
With the huge influx of travellers comes a whole other barrage of problems as well, like security and managing the flow of traffic for instance.
According to the Malaysian newspapers The Star and Vietnam+ on 29 Mar and 30 Mar respectively, the Inspector-General of Police Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani communicated that the police force has made sufficient preparations in response to the re-opening of the borders.
Channel News Asia (CNA) reported that Malaysia’s General Operations Force will be dispatched to the northern and southern borders in Peninsular Malaysia, as well as Sabah and Sarawak.
Acryl Sani stated that the Malaysian police force would be ramping up their alertness and increasing their surveillance to ensure public safety.
The Increased Security at Johor’s Hotspots
In a press conference held today (30 Mar), Johor Police Chief Kamarul Zaman Mamat offered more details about where the state police will be stationed.
In consideration of the increase of visitors and tourists, the police force will be focused on 41 hotspots.
10 of them are in Johor Bahru South, while another three are in Johor Bahru North.
Khairul adds that the Sultan Iskandar Building (BSI), Bazar Karat, the bus terminal and public market in Larkin, and the supermarkets and shopping malls such as Paradigm Mall Johor Baru are included in the list.
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The Arrangements at Sultan Iskandar Building
Since the Sultan Iskandar Building is Malaysia’s customs building that is connected to Singapore’s Woodlands customs via the Singapore-Johor Causeway, it is naturally of paramount importance.
200 officers and police personnel will be on duty at the BSI on the day of and after the reopening of the land borders, with an additional 113 BSI auxiliary police officers deployed to control traffic flow and safety.
Furthermore, 50 to 60 police officers will be deployed to the Sultan Bakar Building (BSAB) in Tanjung Kupang. They will be stationed along the route and at rest areas.
“This is to ensure the safety of tourists and our people, including preventing theft and pickpocketing along the route to BSAB,” Khairui said.
Causeway and Second Link Open on a 24-hour Basis
In another press conference on 30 Mar, Malaysia’s Immigration Department Director-General Khairul Dzaimee Daud stated that the Causeway and Second Link in Johor Bahru will remain open around the clock from 1 April.
Rather than resuming the normal operating hours of the customs, the customs will stay open to accommodate the great number of travellers entering and leaving Malaysia.
Likewise, the Kuala Lumpur International Airport, KLIA2, will stay open on a 24-hour basis.
The auto gates at the entry points of KLIA, KLIA2, Causeway, and Second Link, will be operating at 50% capacity, which Khairul believes will be more than enough to handle the influx of travellers.
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Featured Image: Shutterstock / kalcubemaster