System glitch leaves thousands stranded at Johor-Singapore checkpoints

Foreigners reportedly have to wait up to two hours just to clear the immigration process at the Bangunan Sultan Iskandar complex.

The Border Control and Protection Agency has been ordered to set up manual counters at Bangunan Sultan Iskandar in view of the glitch. (Bernama pic)

PETALING JAYA:

 A system glitch has caused immigration autogates at the two Johor-Singapore land checkpoints to crash, leaving tens of thousands of foreigners stuck in long queues.

Travellers have to wait up to two hours just to clear the immigration process at the Bangunan Sultan Iskandar (BSI) customs, immigration and quarantine complex in Johor Bahru, The Star reported.

It is said that there were issues with the machines at BSI over the past few days, but they crashed as a whole today amid an influx of travellers crossing the causeway into Johor from the city-state.

However, Malaysians are reportedly still able to use the autogates while the clearance system for motorcycles and cars was also working normally.

At the second link in Iskandar Puteri, the Sultan Abu Bakar Complex autogates were also affected, but the situation is manageable compared with BSI, an official was quoted as saying.

“Even the autogates at the KTM station at BSI were offline. This is the first major disruption this year, and the timing is bad seeing that we are getting a lot of foreign visitors in conjunction with Visit Malaysia and Visit Johor 2026,” the official said.

The Border Control and Protection Agency (AKPS) has been ordered to set up manual counters instead in view of the glitch. - FMT