THE Malaysia-Thailand border here today was lined with thousands of vehicles from Malaysia, which wanted to enter the neighbouring country in conjunction with the Hari Raya Aidilfitri holiday.
Many continued to flock to enter Thailand despite the country's fuel rationing following the West Asian conflict.
Chairman of Suara Orang Changlun, Mohd. Zaidi Desa told Kosmo! that the number of Malaysians heading to the neighbouring country through the Bukit Kayu Hitam Immigration, Customs, Quarantine and Security (ICQS) Complex has increased since yesterday.
“The number is increasing today, and the situation at the border since this morning was congested before it was seen easing around noon.
“Vehicles queued up for about two kilometers and it usually takes three to four hours to reach the neighbouring country,” he said.
He said he had to postpone his plans to send Raya food to his relative’s house in Sadao, Thailand, due to the congestion.
“I saw many people buying insurance at shops around Changlun. Most of them are non-Muslim Malaysians who took the opportunity to travel to Thailand during the Raya holidays,” he said.
However, he advised Malaysians who were planning to travel to Thailand to temporarily postpone their trip due to the fuel supply problem there.
“One of the people who entered Thailand today was my friend from Penang, who wanted to go to Phuket. I informed him about the difficulty in getting fuel there, but he continued his journey because he had already made a reservation.
“He wanted to go and said he would fill up there, though there was a possibility of having to queue for a long time,” he said.
According to him, apart from the fuel issue, there were also other risks, such as disruptions to public transport operations, such as tuk-tuks and the possibility of an increase in the price of goods, including food.
He added that there were also tourists who only went to Hatyai and thought that the fuel they filled up in Malaysia was sufficient for the round trip.
Yesterday, the Malaysian Consul General in Songkhla, Ahmad Fahmi Ahmad Sarkawi, advised Malaysians to postpone their trip to Thailand following the shortage of petrol and diesel in the country.
He explained that the situation was not due to a shortage of supply, but rather due to panic buying among Thais following the crisis in West Asia. – March 20, 2026
