The Sultan Iskandar Customs, Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ) complex, also known as the Johor checkpoint that links to the Causeway, is dead quiet as a result of Covid-19.
Known as one of the busiest land crossings on the planet, the Causeway and checkpoints on Singapore and Malaysia sides have come to a complete standstill following Malaysia’s hasty lockdown that came into effect on March 18 to stem the spread of Covid-19 infections.
It has since been extended to April 14.
The lack of vehicular traffic has rendered the crossing eerily unrecognisable, like an end times scene straight out of a movie.
The roads devoid of vehicles has also brought inconvenience to some who urgently needed to travel between the two countries, and and who ended up making the journey on foot over a few hours.
Some 400,000 Malaysians make the daily commute across the Causeway to work in Singapore, while scores of Singaporeans go to work or make leisure day trips up north.
From being frequently jam packed to this state, photos showing an empty and quiet checkpoint with shops closed and trains at stationary position are unfamiliar sights.
Here is an unprecedented look at the Johor checkpoint complex devoid of people, vehicles, and the usual hustle and bustle of a busy bottleneck node connecting two sovereign countries joined at the hip.