20 car lanes to open at CIQ for M’sians to return to vote

JOHOR BARU: Some 20 car lanes at the Customs, Immigration, and Quarantine Complex (CIQ) Bangunan Sultan Iskandar (BSI) will be dedicated to Malaysians returning from Singapore to vote in the 15th General Election (GE15).

State works, transportation and infrastructure committee chairman Mohamad Fazli Mohamad Salleh said the lanes will be made available to Malaysian-registered cars from noon on Nov 18 until noon the next day.

“The Road Transport Department (JPJ) has agreed to prepare the dedicated lanes for Malaysian registered cars.

“We advice those returning home to vote to use these lanes.

“There are three zones that are currently operating at the moment that could be used by any registered cars.

“For the election, we will dedicate two of the zones, which has a total of about 20 lanes, for Malaysian registered cars,” he said.

He said this to reporters when asked about preparations to manage congestion at the Johor-Singapore land border during GE15.

Mohamad Fazli was approached by journalists at the site he was inspecting where two pipes had burst, causing water disruptions to thousands of consumers in Pasir Gudang.

“We hope that this will help ease the journey of those who are coming home to vote.

“The Immigration Department has also frozen leave for their officers to make the process smooth,” he said.

On the burst pipes, Mohamad Fazli said that a total of 38 water tankers are being used to supply water to about 300,000 people living in 70 residential areas in Pasir Gudang as SAJ Ranhill Sdn Bhd continues its repair work on the burst pipes.

He said that the water utility company has been working round-the-clock to fix the pipes that burst on Thursday when upgrading works were carried out.

“A total of 100,000 account holders were affected after the pipes burst and currently about 43,000 are still experiencing water disruptions.

“We have been able to bring water back to about 60,000 account holders by diverting water from other pipes.

“SAJ Ranhill is working hard to resolve the matter and about 38 tankers are being used to supply water to the affected areas,” Mohamad Fazli said.

He noted that of the 38 tankers, 17 are from SAJ Ranhill, two from the fire and rescue department, five from private companies and 14 from other states.