JOHOR BARU: The chaos at the two land checkpoints with Singapore has entered a third day, with many worried as the severe congestion at the motorcycle immigration clearance lanes is threatening to spill over to the car and bus lanes.
The situation at the motorcycle lanes arose after Malaysian authorities started clamping down on local motorcyclists who rode in or out of the country without scanning their passports or relevant travel documents by sneaking through unmanned immigration counters.
Mohd Affendi Ali, 55, said the congestion is the worst he has experienced since he started commuting to Singapore five years ago.
“I was stuck for more than one hour in the morning and another 45 minutes entering Malaysia in the evening. Even when the MBike system failed last year, the situation wasn’t this bad. Just because of some illegal action by a handful of Malaysians who moved (traffic) cones (at inactive immigration counters) to leave the country without scanning their passports, now thousands of law-abiding motorcyclists like me are facing stringent checks,” he said.
Mohd Affendi added that while the facial recognition system using the MyBorderPass app is quite stable, there are not many lanes for motorcyclists to use.
“Even the QR application associated with the National Integrated Immigration System (NIISe), which operates through the MyNIISe mobile app, is not functioning properly. Why is nobody looking into these issues?” he asked.
Edwin Tio, 37, who has been commuting to Singapore for the past 10 years, also agreed that the congestion for motorcyclists in the past three days is the worst he has seen.
“What surprises me is that most of the immigration counters are open inside the checkpoint, but there is a huge jam outside the complex, which has spilled over onto major roads,” he said.
Tio added that he is worried that the situation may worsen, especially with Singapore’s year-end school holidays starting today.
He hoped that the government will spend more money to automate all motorcycle lanes and use the MyBorderPass app.
“I just downloaded the MyNIISe app, but I always see the motorcyclists stuck for quite a long time along those lanes,” he said, adding that he managed to clear Singapore’s immigration within five minutes after being stuck in a jam on the Malaysian side for more than an hour.
Tio, a father of one, said these days, he is forced to travel to Singapore as early as 6am and returns home at about 7.30pm.
Asked why he does not use the Second Link as his home in Bukit Indah is nearer, he said the congestion there is even worse.
The Bangunan Sultan Iskandar (BSI) checkpoint in Johor Baru has 100 counters for motorcycles, with 50 for entry and exit respectively, while the Sultan Abu Bakar Complex at the Second Link has 50 counters, with 25 for entry and exit respectively.
On Nov 20, Johor works, transportation, infrastructure and communications committee chairman Mohamad Fazli Mohamad Salleh acknowledged that there was heavier congestion following heightened enforcement by the Malaysian Border Control and Protection Agency (AKPS) after some motorcyclists bypassed passport controls.
In a statement on Nov 14, AKPS said it detained 26 Malaysians who exited the country through the BSI motorcycle lane on Oct 16 without presenting their passports, with 13 of them charged at the Pekan Nenas Immigration Court and fined RM1,500 each, while three pillion riders were released with warnings.
Another 10 offenders were convicted on Nov 6 and fined RM1,000 each.
