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Johor's Menteri Besar Onn Hafiz Ghazi visited the immigration facilities on the Malaysian side of the Causeway on Apr. 19, and complained about the preparedness of immigration staff, especially in the run-up to the Hari Raya festive season.

"Too long"

Onn Hafiz arrived at the Bangunan Sultan Iskandar Customs, Immigration, and Quarantine (CIQ) complex at 5:15am in the morning on Apr. 19.

A TikTok user, @jdt01unite, captured a video of him speaking to a unnamed immigration official, demanding to know why immigration counters heading into Malaysia were not open.

According to the New Straits Times, Onn Hafiz said it was "unacceptable" that more counters were closed than open.

@jdt01unite MB Johor marah? #MBJohor #BangsaJohor #CIQ #BSI #Singapore #fyp #fyppppppppppppppppppppppp #viralnewsmalaysia ♬ original sound - JDT01Unite

He was told by the official that it was due to staff being on "shift rotation", rest breakers, or at prayers; as well as "technical issues".

Onn Hafiz, refusing to accept the response, told the official that technical issues were to be brought up with "YB Fazli", or, Mohamad Fazli bin Mohamad Salleh, who is a Johor state assemblyman as well as the Chairman of the Johor Public Works, Transport and Infrastructure Committee.

He then told the official to"sort out your human resource, [as] it's been going for too long".

"I'm here. I'm going to wait until it's settled," he could be heard saying.

The video ended with him saying that it wasn't fair to the people using the immigration services.

Two million

Speaking to the press at the end of the visit, Onn Hafiz said that the CIQ facility is the busiest in the world, and will be even busier during the Hari Raya period, according to The Star.

Efficiency, he said, was only at "80 per cent", and would need to be improved immediately for the Hari Raya weekend.

Onn Hafiz said that he expected some two million people and vehicles to travel to Malaysia through both the Causeway and at the Second Link.

He also invited Malaysia's director-general of the Immigration Department, Ruslin Jusoh, to visit the CIQ facility in Johor Bahru as soon as possible, to assist with resolving technical and staffing issues. 

Traffic is expected to be packed over the weekend as Hari Raya falls on coming Saturday (Apr. 22), with Singapore's Immigration and Checkpoint Authority saying to expect wait times of more than three hours.

Queues for the week have already been extremely long and dense.

Long standing issue

The issues at the Causeway CIQ facility are not new, as some of the comments of the TikTok video note.

One asked "After so many years why now?"

Another simply exclaims "Finally!"

It appears that government officials are finally beginning to take notice of issues affecting the hundreds of thousands of Malaysians and Singaporeans who cross the border daily.

While the immigration facilities are federally run, and the Menteri Besar is a state role, the condition of the CIQ facility in JB has caught notice of the Sultan of Johor, who included it in a list of federal facilities in Johor that lacked upkeep from the federal government.

It was also a topic of discussion for Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim when he visited Singapore in January, with Singaporean President Halimah Yacob apparently raising the topic with him when they spoke.

There have been recent attempts to make the crossing more palatable, including allowing Singaporeans to use e-gates at the Causeway, as well as a proposal to let travellers clear customs only once in order to ease congestion.

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Top image via @jdt01unite/TikTok & Onn Hafiz Ghazi/Facebook