JOHOR BARU: Thousands of daily commuters between Malaysia and Singapore are forced to endure long queues and traffic jams, following the island republic's move to step up security at all its checkpoints following the crisis in the Middle East.
The situation is worse during peak hours between 5am to 10am at both the Woodlands Checkpoint along the Johor Causeway and Tuas Checkpoint at the Second Link.
The stringent security checks, which began since Feb 28, are not just for motorcyclists but also all vehicles, including cars and lorries.
A Malaysian worker known as Tan said that he was stuck for about 60 minutes to 90 minutes daily on his motorcycle following Singapore's checks, which began on Feb 28.
"Because of the stringent checks, many people have started discarding their cigarettes on the roads along the Johor Causeway," he said, adding that sometimes the jams tailback all the way to the Malaysian checkpoint.
Another daily traveller, known as Rosli Mat Hassan, said many more people were opting to walk across the Causeway to avoid the jams.
"These days there is more rubbish along the roads as people discard all their contraband everywhere as worried they get stopped in Singapore," he said hoping for the checks to end soon.
Meanwhile another frequent commuter who took to social media warned people of delays due to the stringent checks on the Singapore side.
“I have been stuck on the bus since 7.30pm, barely moving, while watching people walk across the causeway faster than traffic,” Clara said on social media.
“By 8.25pm, we finally got closer to Singapore and the bus dropped us off so we could walk to the Singapore checkpoint.
“It took a total of one hour fifteen minutes to get to the Singapore checkpoint from Johor Baru, and that was only the causeway,” she added.
Meanwhile Johor Trucking Association president Chan Pei Yoon when contacted said that truckers were also facing additional checks at the Singapore side
"We were notified about this by the Singapore authorities and we have since informed all our members," she said.
Meanwhile Singapore's Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) in a statement said that there would be exhanced security measures at all their checkpoints in view of the heightened global situation including the recent developments in the Middle East.
They said travellers should expect delays at the checkpoints.
