With Hari Raya approaching, many individuals are expected to return to their hometowns to celebrate the festive season with their families.
Today (20 April 2023), the Johor Menteri Besar, Mr Onn Hafiz Ghazi, declared that all counters at Johor Bahru’s (JB) Bangunan Sultan Iskandar (BSI) Customs and Quarantine (CIQ) complex would remain open throughout the festive season to ensure hassle-free immigration clearance for those entering and leaving Malaysia.
Furthermore, through an inspection conducted today, he acknowledged that the efficiency of the counters, which he deemed to be around 80%, does not meet his standards and expressed his desire for improvement during the Hari Raya period.
Measures Heightened to Facilitate Traffic
At a meeting on 13 April 2023, various government agencies, including the police, immigration and customs department, Road Transport Department (JPJ), and Land Public Transport Agency, were called to address the festive traffic situation.
The meeting was chaired by Mr Mohamad Fazli Mohamad Salleh, the works, transport, and infrastructure committee chairman for the Johor state government.
During the meeting, the decision was made to open all counters at the BSI customs at JB and Sultan Abu Bakar complex (KSAB) in Iskandar Puteri to accommodate the high traffic volume.
Meanwhile, on Singapore’s side, the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) has implemented several initiatives to streamline immigration clearance and enhance travellers’ experience without jeopardising security.
This included installing 64 additional automated gates at the immigration bus halls in 2022, enabling more bus travellers to go through the automated lanes.
This would free up more officers to be deployed to car and motorcycle zones, where additional support is necessary to manage traffic congestion.
Additionally, the ICA will deploy around 700 officers and traffic personnel to monitor the main roads throughout the state during the upcoming Hari Raya period.
High Influx of People Expected for Hari Raya
According to the ICA, peak-hour traffic flow is expected to return to pre-pandemic levels. As such, travellers should expect traffic at both land checkpoints comparable to the Hari Raya Puasa weekend in 2018, where over 1.5 million people crossed.
This meant an average of approximately 380,000 crossings per day, resulting in up to three hours of waiting time for those departing by car.
More recently, on 6 April 2023, ahead of the Good Friday weekend, over 235,000 people exited Singapore through the land checkpoints, the highest daily exit traffic recorded since the land borders with Malaysia reopened in 2022.
According to reports, it was anticipated that during that weekend, travellers using the Causeway would experience wait times of six to seven hours to enter Malaysia, while those crossing at Tuas would face wait times of seven to eight hours.
Working Hard to Lessen Congestion
This year’s (2023) Hari Raya period would break the aforementioned records as Mr Onn estimated that around two million people and vehicles would travel between Malaysia and Singapore using the Causeway and Second Link.
As such, both Singapore and Malaysia are understandably concerned about potential traffic-related issues, as congestion at the Johor Causeway is no news to us.
Just recently, a family had to take turns to relieve themselves as they got stuck in a five-hour jam at the Causeway on 24 March 2023.
However, since December 2022, Johor has been collaborating with the Singapore government to address the congestion at land crossings.
Just three months ago, their implementation of the Quick Response Team (QRT) initiative in January 2023 increased the number of vehicles that can pass through immigration clearance per hour from 1,400 to 2,300.
Furthermore, additional staff members have been deployed to the checkpoints during peak hours since early February 2023.
During his inspection, Mr Onn observed some closed counters due to staffing and system issues related to the JPJ.
Determined to step up efficiency even more for this year’s Hari Raya (2023), he expects the concerns related to the JPJ to be resolved shortly. He has also requested all counters to be open and operational for cars, motorcycles, bus passengers, and pedestrians.
Additionally, he has invited Immigration Department director-general Mr Ruslin Jusoh to visit the complex to solve issues he had observed relating to the welfare of department personnel.
Given the daily challenges the staff faces in managing the high volume of travellers, Mr Oon hopes that the director-general’s visit will help resolve issues related to their overtime claims and boost their morale.
While the various departments are working hard to address the traffic issues at the checkpoints, Mr Oon also urged travellers to exercise patience and understanding towards the checkpoint workers during the Hari Raya period, given the anticipated high traffic.