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Jan 09, 2024

The why behind Malaysia

By Min Hani SO near, yet so far. That is how Malaysian Lee Jia Ying describes her daily commute to Singapore from Johor. The 28-year-old from Taman Sri Tebrau has worked as a marketing executive for a

By Min Hani

SO near, yet so far. That is how Malaysian Lee Jia Ying describes her daily commute to Singapore from Johor.

The 28-year-old from Taman Sri Tebrau has worked as a marketing executive for a Singaporean firm since late 2019.

And she says she has had to wake up at 4.30am every weekday, just so she can leave her house on time and be at work in Toa Payoh by 9am.

"When people find out that I work in Singapore, they only think of how much money I make. Of course, the pay is good, but sometimes I wonder if spending as much time as I do on the road is a good idea," Lee confessed.

"I can't remember the last time I socialised because I just want to sleep once I return from work at about 9 or 10pm. It's so tiring!"

Lee is among 350,000 commuters from Johor who must pass through Bangunan Sultan Iskandar (BSI) Customs, Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ) Complex daily to enter Singapore for work.

And this means she is one of the many who frequently find themselves stuck in hours-long traffic jams on the 1km-long Causeway.

To be clear, the Johor and Singapore governments have been working hard to rectify the age-old issue of traffic congestion.

They have introduced a variety of measures, such as increasing the number of electronic gates for passport checks, expanding and improving motorcycle lanes and merging government agency counters.

Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi also recently announced an allocation of RM40 million (S$11.7 million) by the Works Ministry to improve road conditions in the state, with an extra RM500 million being set aside for the widening of the North-South Expressway as well as the highway connected beach destination Desaru.

And then, of course, there is the planned introduction of a "single clearance system" for land checkpoints as well as the forthcoming Rapid Transit System (RTS) railway shuttle.

The RTS link, scheduled to begin operations in 2026, aims to connect Bukit Chagar in Johor Bahru to Woodlands in Singapore and serve about 10,000 passengers per hour each way.

And the hope is that it will drastically ease traffic congestion on the Causeway.

Yet while anticipation is high, there is concern among commuters, first and foremost, about the cost.

"I am really excited about the RTS. I hope it won't be too expensive because moving to Singapore would be too expensive for me, and taking a ferry would burn a hole in my pocket," said Malaysian Naim Ahmad, who works in digital marketing on the island republic.

Experts, meanwhile, feel that the RTS offers but one solution to the existing problem.

And before anything else is considered, it might be beneficial to recognise that the speed of immigration and security clearance would benefit from a system that streamlines processes.

"The current processes are based on the number of people regardless of the mode of transport. So, maybe it would be easier to manage people walking and queueing, than commuters in vehicles," said Prof Datuk Dr Ahmad Farhan Mohd Sadullah.

"Also, I'm not sure if a capacity analysis of the present facilities has been done to assess various configurations that may (offer better efficiency) within the available space."

According to the professor of transport studies at the School of Civil Engineering, Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), if it can be proven, for example, that the processes are better for pedestrians, then what would be needed is for those in charge to increase public transportation options.

"My take is there are many possible ways to help ease the current situation. (But) firstly, we need to understand the demand profile of commuters and their demand behaviour.

"Various scenarios can then be tested to assess time performance, practicality and cost. And these need to be done comprehensively and collaboratively," said Prof Ahmad Farhan.

"A more efficient ferry system away from the present place can also distribute the crowd and may ease the capacity issues."

Two ferry services currently operate between Tanah Merah and Desaru Coast and between Tanah Merah and Tanjung Belungkor.

And just months ago, the Johor state government proposed an additional service between Tuas and Kota Iskandar.

There has, however, been little follow-up since then.

Even so, things appear to be looking up slightly.

According to Menteri Besar Onn Hafiz recently, for example, time in traffic at the Causeway and Second Link has already been reduced by some two hours thanks to a new dispersal system.

And with hundreds more immigration officers set to be deployed to southern land checkpoints and the above-mentioned measures, the hope of everyone — commuters, experts and politicians — is that Johor-Singapore border congestion might finally, albeit slowly, be on its way to being solved.

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