Worth the hassle? Massive crowd seen at Johor customs ahead of Father's Day weekend

Friday evenings are meant to kickstart a fun weekend — TGIF, right?

But it looked like quite a number of people in Singapore had the same plan of heading to Malaysia on Friday (June 16).

Unfortunately, they found themselves stuck in a massive congestion at Johor's Customs, Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ) complex.

Travellers were seen in long queues outside the building itself.

In a Facebook post on Friday, a large crowd was seen forming at the Sultan Iskandar building as they awaited custom clearance.

And with Father's Day falling on Sunday, it was quite likely that some travellers were heading home to Malaysia to spend some quality time with the family, 8world reported.

For travellers from Singapore, the favourable exchange rate this week could also play a part in their decision to travel across the Causeway.

The Malaysian ringgit continued to weaken against the Singapore dollar, and it currently stands at 3.44, at the time of writing.

To reduce persisting congestion issues, Johor authorities said they will be deploying an extra 250 immigration officers to its land border crossings with Singapore.

This was announced by Johor Chief Minister Onn Hafiz Ghazi during a state assembly sitting on Thursday.

In May, the Malaysian authorities said an additional 100 personnel would be deployed to the Johor land border crossing, as reported by The Straits Times.

The latest batch of 250 will complement this group.

Stay in your lane

Driving into Malaysia seems simple enough — just stay in your lane and wait your turn.

However, some people are still trying their luck at cutting the queue.

On Thursday, a black Singapore-registered Mercedes was seen slipping through a gap in the barricades separating the lanes over at the CIQ complex heading towards Johor.

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After the driver went over to the other side, he got out of his car and waved at the driver behind him, supposedly to thank him. 

On June 10, a Malaysian driver was filmed attempting to cut the queue on the Causeway by using the dedicated bus and lorry lane.

The driver was stopped by auxiliary police officers but did not comply with their instructions to make a u-turn back to Singapore. He continued to drive in the wrong lane. 

Both driver and vehicle have been banned from entering Singapore, the Straits Times reported.

ALSO READ: Singaporeans give up on Johor Bahru holiday after waiting over 2 hours at Malaysia customs

amierul@asiaone.com

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