So near yet so far: Massive traffic congestion on both sides of the Causeway especially during weekends and long holidays are a recurring sight. — THOMAS YONG/The Star
JOHOR BARU: The move to upgrade the two Customs, Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ) buildings in Johor has received the thumbs up from groups here, but they hope that more can be done to solve the congestion problem in the long run.
They said that while they welcome the RM741.3mil that has been allocated to upgrade the Sultan Iskandar Building’s CIQ Complex (BSI) and the Sultan Abu Bakar Complex (KSAB), they feel that the upgrade alone may not be enough to ease the congestion.
Malaysian Association of Hotels Johor chapter chairman Ivan Teo said it was important to take into consideration the increase in the number of people using the Johor-Singapore border in years to come.
“The upgrade of the buildings and the proposal to have a single immigration clearance system between Johor and Singapore are good moves, but we need to think ahead.
“The initiatives may be able to reduce the congestion we see now, but in time, the volume of people crossing the border will swell even more,” he told The Star.
He said there should also be initiatives to make sure that the CIQ buildings in Johor would cater to people with disabilities, the sickly, and the elderly.
“This will help boost medical tourism not just for Malaysia but also for Singapore. We must bear in mind that those crossing the border are not just Singaporeans and Malaysians but people from all over the world,” he said.
Malaysian-Singapore Workers Task Force (Pemas) president S. Dayalan said the government must first carry out an in-depth study to find out how much the initiatives could help reduce congestion.
“There is no use in introducing a single immigration clearance system or allocating millions of ringgits to upgrade the CIQ buildings if they end up not doing much to reduce the congestion.
“While all the initiatives sound good, we do not know if they are effective,” he said.
Johor Indian Muslim Entrepreneur Association (Perusim) secretary Hussein Ibrahim said that it was important to make sure that the relevant agencies have enough manpower to run the service counters.
“Upgrading the CIQs is a welcome move, but what is more important is making sure that all of the counters at the checkpoints are open, especially during peak hours.
“As for the single immigration clearance system, it is a good proposal. If it is successfully implemented, the system will definitely ease the congestion,” he said.
On Monday, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof said that the proposal for a single immigration clearance system at the Malaysia-Singapore border will be brought to the Cabinet.
He said the Special Committee on Congestion at the Johor Causeway had agreed to the proposal in principle, adding, if the Cabinet agreed with the idea, a technical committee would be set up to talk with Singapore on implementation.
