JOHOR BARU: Heavy weekend traffic coupled with a limited number of open immigration counters at the Woodlands Checkpoint in Singapore caused a massive traffic crawl into the island republic on the Johor Causeway.
The jam also caused long wait times for passengers attempting to board buses bound for Singapore.
Sundays are typically a time when Singaporeans who have entered Malaysia return to the city-state after their shopping or sojourns.
Immigration on both sides of the checkpoints usually do their best to ensure smooth clearance by opening all vehicle lanes or carrying out contra lanes to manage the high number of vehicles.
The traffic snarl started at about 2pm yesterday and vehicles were backlogged from the Singapore checkpoint all the way to Bangunan Sultan Iskandar Customs, Immigration and Quarantine Complex (BSI) here.
A motorist known only as Tan said she was stuck in a jam for almost two hours driving from Johor to Singapore.
“I was surprised that all the immigration counters on the Malaysian side looked open but there were counters closed on the Singapore side.
“I hope the authorities in Singapore are aware of the huge influx of people travelling during the weekend, especially with New Year’s Day just days away,” she said, adding that heavy rains had also slowed down the vehicles due to low visibility.
Helmi, another traveller, said commuters were able to clear immigration at the BSI bus hall quickly but they were left to wait for hours as their buses were stuck in the jam.
“We cleared immigration quickly with the QR code, but there was a long line at the bus area,” he said, adding that he was worried about being late for work.
When contacted, a Home Ministry official said it had put out an alert online urging the public to plan their travel to Singapore due to the jam.
The official said that despite all the vehicle counters being open at BSI, there was a massive backlog of vehicles at Singapore’s Woodlands Checkpoint.
“We urged the public to stagger their journey as the wait can be up to two to three hours to reach Singapore,” the official said.
The official said the jam had also affected vehicles entering BSI.
The jam was only cleared close to midnight.
In a recent statement, Singapore’s Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) said heavy traffic was expected at both Woodlands and Tuas checkpoints till end of the year.
