PUBLISHED ONJune 03, 2023 3:29 AMByClaudia TanEager to make it back into Johor Bahru in time for his child's birth, one motorcyclist came up with a rather ingenious way of getting fellow motorcyclists to give way to him.
Last Wednesday (May 31), a netizen uploaded a picture on Facebook of a note stuck to the back of the man's motorcycle, written in Malay: "Please give way, my wife is about to give birth", reported China Press.
According to China Press, the man was trapped at the Singapore Checkpoint, and was rushing to head to a hospital in Johor Bahru.
During an interview with the Malaysian publication, the man said his wife was originally due to give birth on June 6.
However, he received a call from her last Wednesday afternoon, telling him she was going into labour.
As it was peak hour, the man explained his colleagues gave him the idea of sticking the note on the back of his motorbike, which would hopefully help him make it back in time.
And thanks to the gracious motorcyclists around him that day, it only took him a mere 30 minutes to get through the customs — instead of more than an hour.
The Facebook post quickly went viral, and even earned a comment from the man's wife himself, who later wrote: "This is my husband. Thank God he managed to make it [in time]. I have given birth to our child, he reached [the hospital] while I was having contractions."
Her comment received several replies from netizens who congratulated her on the birth of their daughter.
The baby girl weighed 3.1 kg at birth and is the couple's sixth child, reported China Press.
Over the Vesak Day long weekend, throngs of Singaporeans were spotted trying to enter Johor Bahru for a quick getaway.
TikTok user Garygaryocp uploaded a TikTok video showing what went down at the checkpoints on Friday night.
"Whole Singapore entering Malaysia," the user wrote.
[embed]https://www.tiktok.com/@garygaryocp/video/7239891387083246855?_r=1&_t=8cp9Y8aCcMr[/embed]
The Immigration and Checkpoints Authority said that close to 250,000 travellers left Singapore for Malaysia through the Woodlands and Tuas checkpoints on Thursday, the highest number of daily departures since land borders between the two countries reopened in April 2022.
And it wasn't just the checkpoints that were experiencing jams.
On Friday, Lianhe Zaobao reported that the traffic congestion at Woodlands Checkpoint also affected traffic in the surrounding areas.
For instance, some bus services had to have their routes diverted to avoid the jam — which confused some elderly commuters.
"These elderly are used to the original bus routes, so they're worried they'll alight at the wrong stop [with the diversion], hence they don't dare to take the bus home," said a 43-year-old resident, Chen.
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claudiatan@asiaone.com