SINGAPORE – Malaysia and Singapore will be looking into improving the immigration and customs mechanism to address massive congestion at the causeway linking both countries, especially during the weekends and early in the morning.
Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim told a press conference at the end of his one-day official visit to the city state that this should be able to alleviate the burden of many Malaysians who live in Johor but work in Singapore.
“We (Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong) and I have agreed for a temporary solution. We will introduce a more advanced digital system but we should also give more facilities, especially during the weekends and in the morning.
“This will ease Malaysian workers who are forced to queue up as early as 3 or 4 in the morning to go to work.
“So, we are looking at easing their burdens regarding customs and immigration process and Singapore has agreed to give its cooperation,” said Anwar.
Earlier, while addressing the Malaysian diaspora at the high commission, the Tambun MP explained that this could be as simple as increasing the number of lanes and immigration officials on both sides of the divide.
For instance, if there are 15 customs and immigration officers, it can be doubled to 30 to hasten the border-crossing process.
Meanwhile, Anwar has also tasked Communications and Digital Minister Fahmi Fadzil with coming up with a digital system to expedite and ease the crossing.
At a separate press conference, Fahmi explained that this is something that he must look into in detail first.
“We are going to study the process because it may not just be about physical congestion but it could also be the process, and that is under the purview of the Home Ministry. There could be areas that we can help and a digital system could expedite the process.
“The prime minister’s intention is to ease the burden of Malaysians in Johor who work in Singapore but have to suffer every day to make a living. This border crossing is among the busiest in the world and if my ministry can, we would like to help resolve this issue,” said Fahmi. – The Vibes, January 30, 2023
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