Ruslin (right) inspecting the motorcycle lanes at Bangunan Sultan Iskandar on May 5. – THOMAS YONG/The Star
JOHOR BARU: The shortage of Immigration Department personnel and officers at the Bangunan Sultan Iskandar (BSI) Customs, Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ) Complex here will be addressed with the placement of 100 new recruits this month, says department director-general Datuk Ruslin Jusoh.
He said 231 new recruits would complete their training course by May 21 and the majority will be assigned to BSI as well as the Sultan Abu Bakar Complex (KSAB) in Iskandar Puteri by the third week of May.
ALSO READ: Improved BSI eases Causeway congestion
"This will help fill the (shortage) at BSI ... for now, our manpower is at 80% and there will be additional recruitment as it has been approved by the government.
"At present, there are 1,074 Immigration officers and personnel at BSI but we still have to fill 273 vacancies," he told a press conference on Friday (May 5) after an early-morning visit to VSI to observe its operations during peak hours.
ALSO READ: Johor MB, Immigration brainstorm quick fixes for CIQ congestion
He added that the government had approved 700 new appointments for the department this year and the recruitment drive should be done immediately.
"(Some) of the new recruits will also be stationed at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) in addition to BSI and KSAB. These three checkpoints are our main focus as they need more manpower," he said.
Ruslin added that for BSI alone, from Jan 1 until May 3 this year, the department recorded more than 27 million inbound and outgoing travellers.
ALSO READ: JB-Singapore RTS Link project almost 33pc completed, says rep
"An average of 250,000 people use the Causeway, which is known as the world’s busiest land border crossing, to travel between Malaysia and Singapore daily.
"This is a huge figure and a challenge for us especially at the management level to find solutions to the issues faced there," he said.
