Dry run for third pedestrian route expected to increase access to Johor checkpoint building

SINGAPORE: A third route for pedestrians to enter the Malaysia checkpoint building in Johor Bahru – also known as the Bangunan Sultan Iskandar Customs, Immigration and Quarantine Complex (BSI CIQ) – will reopen soon for a trial period of two months.

The route, which had previously been used by pedestrians to enter the checkpoint building, was closed during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The move to reopen walkway - albeit for a trial period - comes after the Malaysian Cabinet approved the Johor state government’s proposal for the pedestrian route, according to The Star.

Johor Works, Transportation and Infrastructure committee chairman Mohamad Fazli Mohamad Salleh was reported as saying that the third pedestrian route – a shortcut near Hako Hotel – was among issues that were raised by the state government during a recent Cabinet committee meeting on traffic congestion and road safety.

The other two access routes to the checkpoint building are along Jalan Jim Quee and Jalan Tun Abdul Razak. Both these routes funnel pedestrians through JB Sentral to the BSI CIQ.

While the number of pedestrian figures through the JB CIQ is not known, the Johor-Singapore Causeway is one of the busiest border crossings in the world, with 350,000 travellers daily.

A majority of these travellers are Malaysians who work in Singapore, lured by a favourable exchange rate.

The Star and other media have highlighted that pedestrians, including pregnant women, have been calling for the shortcut to be reopened, following its closure during the COVID-19 pandemic.

They are currently forced to walk 1.5km around the BSI CIQ.

“(The Cabinet committee) gave the green light to carry out a dry run for about two months. We will start this and see if there are any problems.

“If everything is okay, we will bring up the matter again to the Cabinet to get approval for the route to be gazetted as official access to get to the BSI,” Mr Fazli was quoted as saying by The Star.

He added that the dry run for the third pedestrian route is expected to start in the coming weeks should it be given the green light by Johor Chief Minister Onn Hafiz Ghazi but gave no further details. It is also not known if the alignment of the walkway is the same as when it was operational before its closure during the pandemic. 

“We may need about two to three weeks to get everything prepared before starting the dry run,” said Mr Fazli.

The state executive councillor said that the walkway will be the first official route for pedestrians to get to the checkpoint building directly should the access route be gazetted.

“There are currently no direct routes to the BSI. The two entrances along Jalan Jim Quee and Jalan Tun (Abdul) Razak allow people to get to the CIQ through JB Sentral.

“If this shortcut is to be gazetted, people would then have direct access to the CIQ without having to go through JB Sentral,” Mr Fazli was reported as saying by The Star.

Local media had earlier reported that Malaysia’s Home Ministry had been looking into reopening the walkway to Johor’s checkpoints to allow pedestrians a shorter route for passport clearance to enter Singapore.