JOHOR BARU: The proof of concept (POC) period for the existing three systems for immigration clearance at the two land borders with Singapore has been extended to Nov 30.
The POC, which means testing the feasibility of a certain measure, was to have ended on Sept 30. The government is supposed to finalise the selection of a single system to facilitate such border clearances.
A letter signed by the Home Ministry secretary-general has been sent out to all the three service providers, namely MyTrip, MyBorderPass and MyRentas, in mid-September.
Johor works, transportation, infrastructure and communications committee chairman Mohamad Fazli Salleh confirmed that the POC has been extended by two months.
“We do not mind the extension as long as all the teething problems can be ironed out, as this involves border clearance at one of the busiest checkpoints in the world.
“We want a good system to be implemented to ease the movement of people, especially with the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone coming up,” he said when contacted.
It is learnt that more than 320,000 locals have been using the three applications at both land checkpoints since June in the POC trial to allow for speedier cross-border clearance.
Currently, people crossing the Sultan Abu Bakar Customs, Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ) Complex (KSAB) at the Second Link use MyTrip, while those passing through the Bangunan Sultan Iskandar CIQ in Johor Baru (BSI) use MyRentas.
Motorcyclists in Johor Baru, meanwhile, are equipped with MyBorderPass, which uses facial recognition or the scanning of a QR code.
To date, MyTrip has had the most registrations, numbering almost 200,000, followed by MyBorderPass and MyRentas, with about 80,000 each.
Azril Rizal Abdullah, chief operating officer of Jati Jana (M) Sdn Bhd, which manages MyRentas, said the POC extension was to enable the Home Ministry, especially the Immigration Department, to gauge the effectiveness of the system at the Malaysia-Singapore border crossings.
Azril said since MyRentas was on trial at BSI, some two million uses have been recorded.
The move has helped cut the bus waiting time from 120 minutes to 15 minutes during peak times, he added.
