M’sia Proposing That We Should Just Clear 1 Customs at The Causeway


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Bitten by the travel bug or suffering from wanderlust after seeing one too many of your friend’s posts in Japan, Korea or Thailand?

Seems like there may soon be options for a speedy getaway to Johor Bahru, Malaysia to satisfy your travel desires.

The Johor Causeway has historically been one of the world’s busiest land border crossings (we’re ignoring the COVID-19 times but attributing it to COVID-19 brain fog), and unsurprisingly plagued by long queues especially during festive seasons.

Good news for all you JB hoppers, the customs process when you cross the 99 year-old causeway may soon be more streamlined and we’re totally loving it.

How the Streamlined Process Is Envisioned to Work

The queues to get across the Johor Causeway may be slow, but Malaysian officials have done some quick thinking.

Malaysia has suggested that both countries implement a “single clearance system” to ease the traffic jams across the Johor Causeway.

Such a suggestion has come shortly after news that Singaporeans can now use the e-gates at the Johor land checkpoint to clear immigration more quickly.

According to the Johor works, transport and infrastructure committee chairman Mohamad Fazli Mohamad Salleh, this “single clearance system” involves stationing immigration officers from both countries in either country so that both countries’ officers can process the paperwork for travellers heading in both directions.

This suggestion stems from the procedure set in place for the 2026 Rapid Transit System (RTS) operations between the two countries.

In case you’ve been living under a rock, the Johor Bahru-Singapore RTS is meant to shuttle people to-and-fro from Woodlands to Bukit Chagar in Johor Bahru and has the capacity to serve up to a whopping 10,000 people per hour in either direction.

We know that queueing is a Singaporean thing, but honestly hor, we’d rather spend that time standing in long queues to satisfy our food craves (Hiap Joo banana cake, anybody)?

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Improved Lanes for Commuter Safety

Apart from improving processes to increase the speed of immigration clearance, Mr Mohamad Fazli is also simultaneously looking into easing congestion for both land routes from Singapore into Malaysia as part of his responsibilities as the head of a multi-agency task force responsible for this task.

So far, there have been considerations or suggestions to increase motorcycle lanes by more than half, from 50 to 75 either way and re-purpose lorry lanes for passengers to use during the peak weekend periods.

We’re all for this multi-purpose efficient use of resources and boosting passenger safety, given the propensity for accidents to happen along a crowded road.

In October last year, a chain collision on the Causeway caused traffic jams of over an hour, with wrecked cars and injuries to passengers.

On 7 July 2022, a lorry collision caused an 11-vehicle accident though thankfully there were no reported casualties.


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With less time spent queueing at customs and a safer journey to our nearest neighbour, do you need more reasons to get ready to chiong to Johor Bahru?

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Featured Image: Amnat Phuthamrong/ Shutterstock.com