Johor’s land checkpoints gear up for Hari Raya travellers
JOHOR BAHRU – Johor’s two land checkpoints will be fully operational starting April 6 to ensure smooth immigration clearance as Hari Raya draws near.
“All vehicle lanes and manual counters will be activated on our side. The contra-flow lanes will also be activated depending on the direction (inbound or outbound) of congestion,” said Johor executive councillor Mohamad Fazli Mohamad Salleh.
He added the Immigration Department was acting ahead in anticipation of heavy traffic at the Bangunan Sultan Iskandar (BSI) at the Causeway and Kompleks Sultan Abu Bakar (KSAB) at the Second Link.
“The SOP is similar to 2023, just that this time we have ironed out the technical issues as much as possible, such as the MBike and gantry systems for smoother clearance,” he told The Star, referring to the automated immigration clearance system for motorcyclists.
The state works, transport, infrastructure and communication committee chairman said over 1,000 immigration personnel would be on duty at both checkpoints, with leave for staff frozen for the festive season.
Mr Fazli also pledged to keep close tabs on the department to monitor the situation and react quickly if issues arose.
In a statement on April 4, state immigration director Baharuddin Tahir said the department expected an increase in the number of travellers at the two land checkpoints this festive period, compared with Hari Raya in 2023.
In 2023, 357,265 travellers entered Johor via BSI and KSAB across three days, from the eve of Hari Raya until the day after.
“We expect to see more people entering Johor in the same period in 2024 based on the significant rise in daily travellers at the two checkpoints,” he added. – THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
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