JOHOR BARU, May 27 — Malaysians travelling to Singapore will be able to use the Quick Response (QR) code for immigration clearance at the Customs, Immigration, and Quarantine (CIQ) complexes at both land border crossings in Johor from next month.
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof said a trial run for the QR code Immigration clearance system will start at the Sultan Iskandar Building (BSI) and the Sultan Abu Bakar Complex (KSAB) from June 1.
He said the first phase of the QR code usage will involve Malaysians travelling to Singapore by bus at BSI and motorcyclists using the automated MBike immigration clearance system at KSAB.
“The proof-of-concept for the QR code usage will run for three months and only involve Malaysians.
“This is expected to reduce waiting time for Immigration clearance by about 50 per cent at both the BSI and the KSAB,” he said at a press conference after chairing a special committee meeting to look into Johor’s border congestion problems at the BSI here today.
Also present at the meeting were Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail and Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi.
The deputy prime minister dropped in unannounced the CIQ complex at the BSI here at 4.15am today.
He said the surprise visit was so he could see first hand the process of inbound and outbound travel involving travellers from two countries, namely Malaysia and Singapore.
Fadillah said he also met with commuters, saw the bus route and snapped his own pictures with his mobile phone.
He said his findings will be shared with a Special Committee to Address Congestion at the Johor Causeway for a guide.
Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic in early 2020, it was estimated that more than 250,000 Malaysians enter and exit Singapore from Johor via both the Johor Causeway in Johor Baru and the Second Link Crossing daily.
At present, the figure has been revised to more than 350,000 Malaysians entering and exiting Singapore daily.
Both land border checkpoints have been described as one of the world’s busiest international border crossings.
