Malaysian commuters call for single immigration clearance app at Johor-Singapore land checkpoints
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A motorcyclist showing the mobile interface of the MyBorderPass app, which allows for the use of facial recognition or QR code clearance at the Johor land checkpoints.
PHOTO: THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
JOHOR BAHRU – Regular users of both of Johor’s land checkpoints with Singapore are asking for the Malaysian state’s government to settle on a single system to provide ease and consistency, following a three-month trial involving three applications.
More than 320,000 Malaysian commuters have been using the three apps to clear both land checkpoints since June in the respective proof-of-concept trials to allow for faster cross-border clearances.
Currently, people crossing the Sultan Abu Bakar Customs, Immigration and Quarantine Complex (KSAB) at the Second Link have been using MyTrip, while those using the Bangunan Sultan Iskandar Complex (BSI) in Johor Bahru have been using MyRentas.
Malaysian motorcyclists in Johor Bahru have been using MyBorderPass,
It is learnt that to date, MyTrip has the most registrations, with almost 190,000, followed by MyBorderPass and MyRentas, with about 65,000 each.
Motorcyclist Daniel Ooi, 58, who has been travelling to Singapore for work for the last 35 years, hopes the government will learn from the M-Bike fiasco, when the system became problematic in March.
“The system was down for so long and caused a lot of problems to the people.
“I hope the government will think long-term and plan for one system to be used at both checkpoints.
“Personally, I enjoy using MyBorderPass with facial recognition. However, I feel that the AI (artificial intelligence) cameras are mounted too high, resulting in motorcyclists having to stop and stand up while at the gantry,” said Mr Ooi, who added that he crosses the BSI at 4am and returns home using the KSAB in the evening.
Another motorcyclist, Mr Rosli Mat Hassan, 42, said he also prefers having one system.
He asked for more new gantries be installed as the number of new users is increasing, resulting in some congestion at the BSI’s motorcycle lanes during peak hours.
“I hope they also think of future upgrades and proper maintenance for these high-tech machines, as it will be pointless to have a system that breaks down frequently,” he added.
Bus user K. Sumumari, 38, who uses the Second Link, said scanning the QR code is very convenient and allows her to clear immigration faster.
“If we have facial recognition at the bus lanes in future, then it will be even faster,” she said, adding that she has been working in Singapore for the past 10 years.
Johor’s works, transportation, infrastructure and communications committee chairman Mohamad Fazli Mohamad Salleh said the state government hopes to choose a smooth and easy-to-use system now that the trial period has ended, on Aug 31.
“We want a good system to be implemented to ease the movement of people, especially with the upcoming Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone.
“We are aware that there could be more than one vendor appointed, but we want a system that is installed properly and maintained,” he said, acknowledging that having more than one system at checkpoints has caused confusion.
As to when the government will announce the system, he said the matter “will be finalised soon”, without offering a specific date.
He said the state government hopes AI-based cameras with facial recognition will be installed at all the arrival and exit halls.
“So, we will not have counters but have cameras installed all over,” he said, adding that the main objective is to ease the cross-border movement of people and goods.
Separately, Malaysian motorcyclists and their pillion riders arriving in and departing from Singapore via the two land checkpoints have been using QR codes in lieu of passports for quicker immigration clearance since mid-August.
Motorcyclists, pillion riders and travellers on bicycles have been able to use QR codes to clear immigration at the Woodlands and Tuas checkpoints since Aug 15.
While some motorcyclists feel that the waiting time is almost the same compared with the days when they had to show their passports, those travelling with a pillion rider said it is faster as they need to scan only one QR code.
A Malaysian motorcyclist, who wanted to be known only as Chan, said the QR code system allows two people’s details to be registered on one cellphone, with the clearance enabled with a single scan.
“In the past, if two people were travelling (on the motorcycle), we would have to scan two passports, so this is definitely faster,” he said. THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
