New Shift Change Formula To Reduce Congestion At Johor Ciqs - Immigration D-g

JOHOR BAHRU, May 5 (Bernama) -- The Immigration Department will implement a new shift change formula at land entry and exit points at the Customs, Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ) complex at Sultan Iskandar Building (BSI) and Sultan Abu Bakar Complex (KSAB) to ensure that all counters are open during peak hours.

Its director-general, Datuk Ruslin Jusoh said the new formula, which will be announced next week, was important to address peak-hour traffic congestion due to shift change.

"This is one of the issues raised by Johor Menteri Besar, Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi recently regarding the shift change which is a critical time. We are studying (the matter),” he said, adding that the department will make sure that the duty change process does not take place during peak hours to ensure smooth traffic dispersion, especially entering Singapore.

He told this to reporters after inspecting the BSI complex here this morning, which was also attended by Johor Public Works, Transportation and Infrastructure Committee chairman, Mohamad Fazli Salleh.

He also said 100 new immigration personnel will be placed at the complex end of this month after they complete their training on May 20.

Currently, CIQ BSI has 1,074 immigration personnel compared to the requirement of 1,347, he said.

“Besides that,…700 new immigration posts have been approved by the government this year, with the majority of them will be placed at BSI CIQ, KSAB CIQ and the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA), which is experiencing a shortage of staff," he added.

Meanwhile, Ruslin said, the initiative to combine 38 counters at BSI was ongoing, involving the immigration, Road Transport Department and Touch N Go processes, to shorten the time for vehicles to enter the country which is expected to complete by year-end, adding that so far 19 counters have completed the exercise.

Besides that, BSI CIQ will have 20 additional autogate by July and more parking bays for buses by the end of the month, while KSAB CIQ will be provided with additional 33 counters for Mbike, he added.

Onn Hafiz was quoted as saying that the Johor government and the Ministry of Home Affairs would implement several initiatives to tackle congestion at BSI CIQ and KSAB CIQ, adding that it was the commitment of the state and federal governments to improve the existing system and reduce congestion on the land route between Malaysia and Singapore via the Johor Causeway and the Malaysia-Singapore Second Link (Linkedua).

--BERNAMA