Stranded Malaysians walk across the Causeway

Making it on foot: Malaysian factory workers working in Singapore walking across the Causeway.

JOHOR BARU: Hundreds of Malay­sians stranded by the blockade took to crossing the slightly over 1km Causeway on foot after waiting for buses that never came.

Many of the commuters, who included schoolchildren, their family members and factory workers, were not even aware of the blockade which forced traffic to a standstill. Some even decided to turn back and skip work for the day.

Front office executive, Adrian Dinesh, 30, said the scene was like a marathon taking place along the Causeway.

“The bus stop before the checkpoint was brimming with people, and yet there was no bus in sight. Everyone was just fed up that there was no public or factory bus to ferry them to work,” he said, adding that most decided to make the journey on foot.

IT Specialist Aaron Winson, 30, said he was walking with the crowd, who by about 5am, had swelled to hundreds.

“I have been working in Singapore for the past eight years and have never seen such an incident. I noticed some schoolchildren walking with their grandparents,” he said, adding that some decided to turn back halfway across the Causeway while others rested before resuming their walk.

One of those who did not make it to the office yesterday was insurance agent T. Pradeepa, 27, who felt that the Causeway was too far to walk.

“I was puzzled because many of us had no clue at all why there were no buses,” said Pradeepa, who went back home after waiting in vain at a bus stop for some 20 minutes.

“Only when I came home did I learn about the blockade,” she said.

At the height of the incident, Singapore’s Land Transport Authority said on its website that all transit buses between Singapore and Johor had been suspended and would only resume at 11am.

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