JOHOR BARU: Tens of thousands of people were stuck in long queues at all entry points nationwide, after the country’s entire immigration system crashed following a major glitch.
Immigration officers were left frantically trying to clear locals and foreigners manually as all computer-based systems were down for all types of immigration clearance for two hours since 6.30pm on Wednesday.
A Home Ministry official said that the disruption affected most of the 114 checkpoints nationwide.
Malaysia has a total of 56 entry points via sea, 30 via land and 28 airports.
“Sarawak has the most number of checkpoints with 34, followed by Johor (16) and Sabah (14),” the official said, adding that, this time, the disruption did not just affect foreigners but locals as well.
The official, describing the incident as a major disruption although it was only for about two hours, said a detailed investigation was under way including to ascertain if there was any element of hacking of the system at the Immigration Department’s data centre.
The official said the disruption also involved QR code systems such as MyBorderPass and National Integrated Immigration System (NIISe).
A frequent traveller known as Rosli Mat Don, 45, said this was the third major breakdown he had faced this year alone, at both the checkpoints with Singapore.
“The last time, the gridlock was due to foreigners not being able to use the autogates. But the breakdown yesterday was worse as even locals could not use our QR codes or facial recognition.
“I was stuck in the jam for almost three hours,” he said, urging the government to have a backup system in border management.
Another traveller to Singapore, known as Lim, described the breakdown as “chaos” as it happened during peak hours, resulting in a three-hour delay for him.
He said he was worried as the new rapid transit system (RTS) between Malaysia and Singapore would have almost 100 autogates with only a dozen manual gates.
“What happens if there is a breakdown like this? I feel sorry for the immigration officers who get abused whenever there is a disruption,” he added.
Another traveller at KL International Airport, also known as Lim, said there were long queues at the airport about 6.30pm onwards.
“I was stuck for more than one hour to clear immigration,” he said, adding that such incidents mar the country’s image, especially during Visit Malaysia 2026.
An official at the Causeway said immigration officers had to manually check each passport for travellers. They also started contra lanes at both the bus halls.
Since June 1, 2024, visitors from 63 countries are eligible to use the autogates for immigration clearance.
This privilege is also extended to all diplomats serving in Malaysia and their family members.
