KUALA LUMPUR: The usage of QR code for immigration clearance at the Malaysia-Singapore border, which is currently on a trial run, will be finalised for continuation by this year, says Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail.
Saifuddin Nasution said the decision will be made based on the findings from the proof of concept (POC) gathered between June 1 and Nov 30 for two categories of travellers, namely bus passengers and motorcyclists allowed to use QR codes during the trial.
He said the QR code option was used mainly for the two categories as they make up over 80% of 400,000 daily travellers plying the border.
He said the number of travellers at the Causeway rose by about 17% every year.
Saifuddin Nasution said the use of QR code was found to be highly effective in easing traffic congestion at the borders with Singapore with over two million travellers using it since June 1.
He said it had shortened travel time during peak hours, saving about three seconds for each motorcyclist.
“Saving three seconds may appear small but it is very significant for a very busy route and cuts down travel time in the long run. This is why the Federal and Johor governments are finding ways to ease traffic congestion at the border.
“It was agreed in the meeting that the procurement process for the use of QR code be finalised this year following the findings and submission of the POC.
“It was also agreed that the use of the QR code be extended to travellers in other modes of transport which will be carried out in several phases next year as it will be Visit Malaysia Year and Malaysia will assume the chairmanship of Asean.
“We expect to see 150 million travellers throughout next year compared to 116 million currently.
“Among Asean nations, Singaporean tourists make up the highest number of visitors to Malaysia followed by Thailand,” Saifuddin Nasution told a press conference at the Bukit Aman police headquarters here after attending a special meeting with a committee formed to address the Johor Causeway traffic congestion yesterday.
He said the Home Ministry would also finalise the procurement after discussions with the Finance Ministry and decide on the vendors to manage the QR code applications.
Asked about the reopening of a shortcut to the immigration clearance area at the Bangunan Sultan Iskandar Customs, Immigration, and Quarantine (CIQ) for pedestrians, he said the matter was not discussed in the meeting.
“It is not solely our decision and has to be decided by Singapore also as there are issues like security which have to be looked at,” he said.
He also said the meeting discussed a plan to re-route commercial vehicles from Woodlands to Tuas.
“No decisions were made on this as discussions headed by the Transport Ministry will be held with the Singapore authorities first.
“We cannot just say commercial vehicles were the cause of the traffic jams. It must be evidence-based.
“A study will be conducted on the traffic flow to see if it is viable to move commercial vehicle traffic to Tuas,” he added.
Saifuddin Nasution said out of 52 proposed initiatives to address the traffic congestion at the border, 22 have been carried out, 10 are in the process of being implemented and the rest are yet to be worked on.
He said the highest number recorded crossing the border in a single day was during Singapore’s National Day in August with 595,000 people.
