Sg Tujoh may get frequent travellers lane
KUCHING: A special lane for Frequent Travellers Facilities (FTF) holders is being considered for the Sungai Tujoh immigration checkpoint in Miri to ease the congestion of vehicles going to and coming from Brunei.
Immigration Department director general Datuk Seri Mustafar Ali said the special lane would hopefully encourage more East Malaysians to register for FTF.
He revealed that over 500 Malaysians in Sarawak and Sabah are registered for the FTF while almost 6,000 in Brunei are registered.
“When we talk about special lane, of course have to take out existing lanes. Nevertheless, this is to motivate people so that we can reduce a lot of congestion by having a special FTF lane. That is being considered and the opportunity is there,” he told a press conference yesterday.
“Of course, the logistics aspect
When we talk about special lane, of course have to take out existing lanes. Nevertheless, this is to motivate people so that we can reduce a lot of congestion by having a special FTF lane. That is being considered and the opportunity is there.
must be looked into. Together with Sarawak and Sabah, that is being discussed with the respective state governments.”
Mustafar earlier chaired a meeting to coordinate the implementation of FTF, which was also attended by state Immigration director Ken Leben, Home Ministry deputy secretary in charge of immigration affairs Siti Jalilah Abd Manap, Deputy State Secretary Datu Ismawi Ismuni and representatives from relevant agencies including from Sabah.
He pointed out that congestion at Sungai Tujoh, especially during weekends and public holidays, was one of the concerns discussed by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei.
He explained that the FTF system had facilitated immigration clearance at the checkpoint, as all users would be cleared within seconds if their names are on the registered FTF users list.
Mustafar said this system, implemented since 2014, is almost similar to the MBIKE system at the Bangunan Sultan Iskandar CIQ Complex in Johor Bahru.
“You see, when we talk about Bruneians, they often come here for shopping since their money in terms of currency exchange, is bigger than our ringgit. And they also come to visit tourist attractions offered by Sarawak and Sabah.
“For businesses in Malaysia and Brunei, I hope Malaysians take opportunity to register for FTF to make things easier for them to enter Brunei. And for those in Brunei, we believe we can register more for the FTF,” he said.
On why Malaysians are not registering for the FTF, he said it could be due to them still preferring the conventional method of getting their passports stamped.
He pointed out that office automation and ICT facilities are prioritised by the Immigration Department to ensure better public service delivery, and singled out the country’s passport renewal system as one of the fastest at within an hour upon fee payment.
On another matter, he said the Visa on Arrival ( VOA) system is now being implemented at Miri Airport and the customs, immigration and quarantine points in Tedungan and Sungai Tujoh.
Datuk Seri Mustafar Ali, Immigration Department director general