On top of that, menteri besar Onn Hafiz Ghazi told the state legislative assembly sitting in Kota Iskandar Puteri, Johor Bahru, today, he would be making more spot checks to ensure everything was running smoothly, Bernama reported.
He was responding to a question from Liow Cai Tung (PH-Johor Jaya), who wanted to know the efforts made to ease travellers’ movement at both land entry points between Malaysia and Singapore.
Onn Hafiz said the state is mulling a proposal to increase the number of train coaches at Johor Bahru Sentral to streamline the movement of travellers at the Sultan Iskandar Building customs, immigration and quarantine complex.
“We plan to increase the present four coaches to five. Each coach can accommodate 80 passengers per trip.
“If approved, the trains can carry an additional 2,480 passengers per day,” he said.
Onn Hafiz said increasing the number of motorcycle lanes to 44 and implementing the QR code system for bus passengers and motorcyclists were being considered at the BSI CIQ complex.
As for the Sultan Abu Bakar Complex, integrating the bus passenger halls, increasing the number of motorcycle lanes to 33 and implementing QR codes for bus passengers and motorcyclists had been proposed.
“I understand many are unhappy with my presence at the main entry points. Many dislike my spot checks, but believe me, I will not stop until we resolve the legacy issues haunting the people in the state.
“I am confident that with the new leadership in Johor immigration, we can address issues involving the 250,000 residents of this state who commute to and from Singapore every day to earn a living,” he said.
Onn Hafiz said the state government is part of the special committee to address congestion at the Johor Causeway, chaired by the deputy prime minister.
As such, he said, he was in constant communication with the prime minister and the home minister to help resolve the daily congestion issues.
Last Thursday, Johor Regent Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim said the frequent congestion issues reported at the BSI CIQ complex and Sultan Abu Bakar Complex needed to be resolved without compromise as both are vital assets for the state’s economic development.