To help you in refreshing what you have promised publicly following your pre-dawn visit to the CIQ complex at BSI on 5 May 2023, you,
Admitted and confirmed
- the lack of officers to man counters - manpower resources - during the shift's rotation as the cause for the congestion at the CIQ at BSI and KSAB.
- that the current 7am shift rotation time is not practical as the peak hours at both land route entries is between 5am and 8am.
- CIQ BSI has 1,074 immigration officers compared to the 1,347 staff requirement and the Immigration Department still short of 300 staff to ensure all 284 counters are operating in full capacity.
- For the immediate term, Immigration will station 100 new recruits who are expected to complete their training on 20 May 2023 by end of May 2023.
Reportedly, it only took you 2 hours during the visit to establish,
- A formula to ensure optimal service at Customs, Immigration, and Quarantine Complex (CIQ) at Bangunan Sultan Iskandar (BSI), and the Sultan Abu Bakar Complex (KSAB) at Gelang Patah which was to implement a new shift rotation time to replace the current one which is at 7am saying the new shift rotation will be formulated at latest by mid May 2023.
- And announced additional steps to be implemented to ensure all counters at CIQ BSI, will remain in operation during peak hours, is to deployed 20 Quick Respond Teams (QRT), to replace any immigration staff, in case of any emergency.
- And also announced that 20 more Malaysian Volunteer Department Corps (RELA) members will be stationed at BSI to direct motorists.
Concurrently, you also highlighted to the media that the reasons why the immigration counters are frequently delayed was because the Immigration department, the Road Transport Department (RTD) and the Touch N Go 's toll payment systems are yet to be merged completely where upon completion of the merger expected to be completed by end of 2023, the process of documenting entry to the country can be reduced under 4 minutes.
You have boldly said that Immigration is adamant about solving issues pertaining to the entry-points in the country and in fact, your main focus is to overcome the issue of critical congestion at the entrance of the world's busiest land route, located in Johor.
Admitting that having all counters opened during peak hours was not only vital but will also have a positive impact on the economy, as faster and more efficient immigration processes will encourage more travel and trade, you boldly and openly declared that you are committed to ensure that 100% of the counters are open during peak hours at the CIQ complexes in BSI and KSAB.
You appear true to your words as the Mentri Besar in a post on his Facebook on 4 July 2023 issued a message congratulating and thanking all the parties involved in successfully implementing the traffic dispersal agenda at BSI (Bangunan Sultan Iskandar) and KSAB (Kompleks Sultan Abu Bakar).
Unfortunately the changes appear to be half hearted.
Like the saying old habits die hard.
What formula you proposed appeared to be unsustainable.
Less than a year down the road, the Mentri Besar make a surprise visit.
And he posted his disappointment and frustration on his Facebook account on 24 March 2024.
The response from the Peninsular Malaysia Immigration Service Union (KPISM) on the posting of the Mentri Besar saying the congestion was due to shift changes for staff who were waiting to rest after peak hours appears to portray a rift or miscommunication between what you promised and the actions of the Immigration officers on the ground.
Cuepacs also joined in the fun calling for the Mentri Besar as chairman of the Causeway’s special traffic congestion task force to respectfully reprimand civil servants and not on social media.
All the above does not augur well for you moreso when you were the one that boldly declared and promised that your main focus is to overcome the issue of critical congestion at the entrance of the world's busiest land route in May 2023.
Cuepacs’s claim that the visit by the Mentri Besar was during the off peak hours does not hold water.
Even if the visit was during off peak hours, what appears to irk the Mentri Besar was that even during off peaks, motorists are still queuing where it should be supposed to be smooth flowing with no queues lining up.
You came up with a formula after spending just 2 hours evaluating the situation in May 2023.
Wonder how many hours or minutes would you take to resolve this current situation?
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