Waiting isn’t fun, especially if you have to get somewhere quick. As a result, we sometimes take drastic measures because we are desperate to beat time, just like these lorry drivers.
The Star reported that some annoyed Malaysian lorry drivers would sometimes drive through the immigration clearance at the Johor Bahru checkpoint into Singapore without scanning their passports.
Source: The Star
These drivers tend to do this because they often have to wait up to 30 minutes for the Immigration officers or sometimes, they would have to get down from their vehicle to look for them. Oh, the hassle!
According to them, the booths at the Bangunan Sultan Iskandar Customs, Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ) Complex are usually empty.
Source: Mapio.net
Pan-Malaysia Lorry Owners Association president Anthony Tan Boon Siong said that these drivers are “unhappy” with the service they get from the immigration officers. Therefore, they’d just drive off as they are usually in a hurry to deliver goods. Can’t blame them too, time is money!
Tan also shared that last week, at least 20 drivers were detained for about 24 hours during special Immigration operations at the CIQ because the lorry drivers kept driving off without getting their passports checked.
Even though the lorry drivers’ decision to drive off is not encouraged by the association, Tan explained that counters should still have officers waiting there at all times. True!
Source: Living in Malaysia
“You cannot expect drivers to wait at the booths for up to 30 minutes or go around looking for an Immigration officer to stamp their passport,” he said.
However, this isn’t something new because it has been happening for quite some time especially early in the mornings. On the other hand, Tan said that there are only six counters for lorries at CIQ. That’s a very little amount of counters for lorries!
Prior to this, a few days ago, Immigration officers had reportedly arrested a driver and lodged a report on the man for allegedly exposing the empty booths at the Johor CIQ by uploading a video via Facebook, which later went viral.
Therefore, pertaining to this issue, an officer said that the allegations were indeed serious and internal investigations are being carried out to get to the bottom of the matter.
For illustration purposes | Source: Malay Mail
“Immigration officers who were missing from their booths without valid reasons would face disciplinary action,” he said when contacted by The Star.
At the same time, he had also insisted that these lorry drivers MUST scan their passports before leaving the country or they would have to face serious charges.
In a nutshell, leaving the country without getting our passports checked could pose as a national threat to the country we’re entering, which is why Immigrations officers must be vigilant at all times to avoid that from happening.
Let’s hope the authorities take the right action to curb this problem!
Also read: Flying to Bangkok for NYE? Brace Yourself For a 4-Hour Wait at Immigration
