KUALA LUMPUR – Starting June 1, Malaysians travelling to Singapore can use a QR code to clear immigration at Customs, Immigration, and Quarantine (CIQ) checkpoints at the Sultan Iskandar Building (BSI) and the Sultan Abu Bakar Complex (KSAB) at the Second Link.
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof announced this during a visit to the BSI in Johor Bahru today.
He said the first phase of the QR code clearance system will be available to Malaysians travelling to Singapore by bus and to motorcyclists who use the automated MBike immigration clearance system.
Other phases covering other travellers will be rolled out gradually, and the new method is expected to ease congestion for the up to 400,000 people who cross into Singapore daily.
“For this QR code system, all Malaysians travelling to Singapore can use the MySejahtera application or the MyTrip system,” Bernama reported Fadillah saying at the BSI today.
The phase starting June 1 for Malaysians entering Singapore on buses and by motorcycle is a “proof-of-concept” phase that will last three months, he added.
“It will be expanded to others if successful.”
The use of the QR code will reduce the waiting time for BSI bus users during peak hours from 120 minutes to 15 minutes, while the waiting time for buses at KSAB can be reduced from 90 minutes to 15 minutes.
Motorcyclists can reduce their waiting time at BSI from 40 minutes to 30 minutes, while the waiting time for motorcyclists at KSAB can be reduced from 45 minutes to 30 minutes.
In March, Singapore started rolling out an initiative allowing motorists arriving and departing from its Woodlands and Tuas checkpoints to use QR codes instead of passports for faster immigration clearance.
In January, a joint statement by Malaysia’s Economy Ministry and Singapore’s Trade and Industry Ministry said immigration clearance on both sides of border checkpoints between the two countries would utilise a QR code as part of larger plans to develop the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone (JS-SEZ).
Fadillah earlier today chaired a meeting of the special committee on congestion issues at the Johor Causeway held at the BSI. Also present were Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail and Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi. – May 27, 2024