This means that all vehicles travelling to and from Singapore will have to use the new complex to get their passports stamped and Customs checks.
Ready for action: An aerial view of the new Sultan Iskandar Building (background), which houses the new Custom, Immigration and Quarantine complex in Johor Baru.
The RM1.3bil new complex, which has 76 lanes for cars and 100 for motorcycles, was partially operational on Dec 1 when vehicles from Singapore were diverted to the complex for a drive-through after completing their Immigration and Customs procedures at the Causeway checkpoint.
Starting tomorrow, all vehicles coming from Singapore must also use Touch ’n Go cards to pay toll as they enter Malaysia.
Previously, at the Causeway checkpoint, toll payments could be done with cash and Touch ’n Go cards.
Johor traffic police chief Supt T. Raveendran said full operations of the complex would start at 12.01am tomorrow and would involve all cars, buses, vans and motorcycles.
Lorries, however, would still use the Tanjung Puteri checkpoint.
Supt Raveendran said that at 11.45pm today, the existing Immigration counters in Jalan Tun Razak just before the Causeway would be closed.
All vehicles heading to Singapore between 11.45pm and midnight would be diverted to Jalan Sawmill behind the Johor Baru (central) police station, he added.
Vehicles would then have to go on either Jalan Pantai Lido or Jalan Wong Ah Fook to Jalan Tebrau and subsequently to Jalan Lingkaran Dalam to enter the Sultan Iskandar CIQ complex, he said.
After midnight, all vehicles should head directly to the Sultan Iskandar CIQ complex via Jalan Lingkaran Dalam.
The old Immigration checkpoint at the Causeway will be demolished after authorities are satisfied with the smooth flow of traffic at the new complex.
Engineer Darryl Chong, 32, who works in Singapore and used the new complex, said that he was concerned over the narrow roads at the new complex.
“The roads are very narrow for big vehicles,” he said.
He added that he was unsure whether larger vehicles would slow down the flow of traffic while trying to manoeuvre the winding roads.
Chong also noted the complex was fully covered.
Sources : The Star 15th Dec 2008
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Upon reading this news, I do not know whether to be happy or sad.
During Tun Dr Mahathir's era, he had planned a bigger and wider bridge to connect to Singapore. He is so determined to get this project done that he insisted that if Singapore did not agree, then he will continue on the project with a crooked bridge.
Alas, the leadership changed to Datuk Seri Abdullah Badawi. He is famous for being a softie leader that he decided to change Tun Dr Mahathir's plan and bow down to Singapore. The old bridge is not dismantled at all.
When I came to know of Datuk Seri Abdullah's decision, my heart really aches and I believe same goes to all the Johoreans.
How I wish these leaders will go to the CIQ at 5am in the morning to see how terible the jam is. I really pity those Malaysians who travell to work in Singapore every day. They have to wake up at 4am or even earlier just to cross the bridge.
This suffer is actually not felt by the Johoreans only. The China tourists who visited Malaysia suffered the worst. The China tourists come to Malaysia via Singapore and go back to China via Singapore as well. This is due to the cheap flight tickets.
So, lets say the flight of the China tourists is at 10am. The Singapore travel agent will arrange a tour bus to pick them at Woodlands at 7am. This is because 1 hour is needed for the travel time from Woodlands to the Changi airport. And it is also a regulations that all tour groups have to check in 2 hours before flight time. So, thats the reason why Singapore travel agent will arrange the tour bus at 7am.
As for the Malaysia part, the tour guides will definately have to arrange 3.30am morning call and 4.00am check out from the hotel. We must reach the CIQ latest by 4.30am because if we reach later then that, all the industrial buses arrived and this will create a terrible jam.
Due to these circumstances, usually the China tourists will reach Singapore at about 5am. The worst is that the China tourists will have to sleep in the Malaysian tourists bus and wait till 7am. This is because the Singapore bus driver will only fetch the China tourists at 7am.
So, from here you can understand that not only the China tourists suffer but the Malaysian tour guides and drivers have the same fate at all.
I am hoping with this new CIQ, everything will be smoother and faster so that we need not have to wake up so early in the morning.
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