CAUSEWAY CONGESTION SOLUTION
Recommendations made on tackling congestion at two checkpoints
THE Special Cabinet Committee on the Johor Causeway Congestion has recommended for additional funding to be channelled to the two overland checkpoints in Johor to address their many long-standing issues.
Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad chaired the special committee’s first meeting on Wednesday.
It discussed initiatives to address the congestion, particularly at the Causeway, which sees more than 300,000 motorists stuck in daily traffic on their way to Singapore and back.
The Home Ministry, in a statement yesterday, said the special committee submitted four urgent recommendations.
Among the initiatives that were deliberated on and recommended to tackle congestion at the entry points were the approval of special and additional allocations for the Sultan Iskandar Building (BSI) and Sultan Abu Bakar Complex (KSAB) and to study the setting up of a single border agency to control the country’s borders and entry points, including ports.
Others were to provide an exemption to the staffing control policy at entry points to allow for full staffing and to conduct a study to identify issues, challenges and directions for future capacity needs at the two entry points.
The special committee would allow policy-based decisions to be made in regard to measures to reduce and manage the congestion at the two Customs, Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ) complexes at the Johor Causeway and Second Link.
Present at the meeting were
Home Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng, Communications and Multimedia Minister Gobind Singh Deo, Chief Secretary to the Government Datuk Seri Dr Ismail Bakar, Inspector-General of Police Datuk Seri Abdul Hamid Bador and Home Ministry secretary-general Datuk Seri Alwi Ibrahim.
The meeting also discussed details of expansion plans for the Causeway’s structure.
There were plans to widen and lengthen the 1.06km-long Causeway, build a roofed pedestrian walkway, passageway for vessels and expand the entrance at the two overland checkpoint complexes in Johor.
One of the major decisions made by the special committee was for the Home Ministry to take over the management of BSI and KSAB.
“Based on what was presented, the meeting had deliberated and decided for the Home Ministry to become the building managers of BSI and KSAB.
“The meeting also agreed to set up a sub-committee, which will consist of several ministers and representatives from the Johor government, and be chaired by the home minister,” the statement read.
It suggested follow-up measures to look into initiatives recommended in the meeting.
The cabinet set up the committee on June 20, with the Home Ministry acting as secretariat to the special committee.
The new arrangement meant that the Special Task Force set up by the Johor government would be abolished.
The meeting followed a cabinet note presented by Muhyiddin, which outlined the implementation of short-, mid- and long-term initiatives to reduce congestion at the two entry points.
“The implementation of initiatives were identified through engagement sessions, such as workshops, discussions and coordinating meetings at ministry, department and agency level.”
Johor Works, Infrastructure and Transportation Committee chairman Mohd Solihan Badri welcomed the proposed single border agency as it would streamline the large number of agencies stationed at the two border checkpoints.
“There are 22 agencies managing the Causeway checkpoint, including the Immigration, Customs, police and Health Department.
“It’s about time we have a single agency, as having 22 agencies is not ideal for the checkpoint,” said Solihan, who was among representatives from the state government who attended the meeting.
He said the Johor government presented proposals during the meeting, along with the other papers forwarded by the Immigration and Customs departments and the Home Ministry.
“We highlighted our concerns, as the people of Johor are directly involved in this issue. It’s a pressing issue and we are very concerned with problems about Johor Baru’s CIQ.
“We sincerely hope the federal government will settle this issue soon.”
Solihan said while the state and federal governments shared certain similar points in their
proposals, the Johor government also hoped to tackle other local issues on signages, facilities for buses and tour buses and vans, as well as facilities for factory workers and enforcement.
“We see that some buses for factory workers are used as public transportation.
“All these buses wait around for passengers and this affects the flow of traffic, causing congestion.”
He said the most urgent initiatives should be the covered pedestrian walkway and passageway for vessels, which could be done by removing three culverts under the Causeway.
He also said the three culverts could be turned into one that was functional enough for small boats to pass through.
He said the meeting did not set any timeline for the implementation of initiatives, but it was important for all parties to set short-, mid- and long-term goals and milestones.
“We just completed our first meeting and I believe other agencies are holding their internal discussions.
“Let’s hope this is completed as soon as possible for the benefit of everyone, especially the people.”
The New Straits Times had, in a two-part series starting Jan 20, highlighted the congestion motorcyclists had to endure at the Johor-Singapore border to get to work.
Many motorcyclists left their homes in Johor as early as 4.30am to get through the congested checkpoints on both sides of the Causeway.
Most of them have to endure an hour to 1½ hours in congestion to get through Immigration and Customs clearances.
The issues affecting the Causeway and Second Link came into focus following an apparent interest by the federal government to revive a Crooked Bridge project to replace the Malaysian side of the Causeway.
However, historians, infrastructure experts and environmentalists gave mixed views on the proposal.
While some claimed that a new bridge would accommodate the increasing number of commuters and vehicles, allowing for better flow at the Johor straits, others believed that the Causeway should be retained as it was part of the country’s heritage.
Built in 1924, the 1.06km-long Causeway is one of the busiest overland border crossings in the world with more than 300,000 people making their daily commute between the countries. Additional reporting by Hashini Kavishtri Kannan