SINGAPORE: After the Sultan Iskandar Building (BSI) immigration checkpoint in Johor Bahru was crippled by a power outage that lasted over 10 hours from Dec 5 to 6, Johor chief minister Onn Hafiz Ghazi called it “a disgrace to the state.”
The chief minister added that the TNB and JKR had been told to resolve the issue quickly. However, the power failure, which is said to have begun between 8 pm and midnight on Tuesday night, caused heavy traffic in the area and affected hundreds of commuters stuck in traffic jams. Videos and photos of what the commuters had to go through were quickly posted online.
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On the Malaysia-Singapore Border Crossers (MSBC) 马新过境者 Facebook page, people said that even as of Wednesday morning, people were still being cleared manually, which meant that lines were still not going as quickly as they usually would. The power outage also meant that e-gate facilities were not working.
Some groups reported that electricity was restored by around 9:20 am. And by 4:00 pm on Wednesday (Dec 6), the traffic situation had eased.
“Tailback of departure traffic from Malaysia at Woodlands Checkpoint has subsided. Please follow ICA Facebook for more updates,” read an update on the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority Facebook page.
Following the power outage, agencies at the checkpoint in Johor carried out inspections to ensure there would be no issues afterward, The Star quoted Johor Immigration Department director Baharuddin Tahir as saying.
In his Facebook post, the chief minister called the incident “a huge problem.” He also posted a screenshot of a letter from Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB), the energy company, saying that from 8 pm on Tuesday (Dec 5) to 4 am on Wednesday (Dec 6), the supply of electricity would be affected in several areas, including the CIQ complex and JB Sentral.
Traffic at the border between Singapore and Johor Bahru is already heavy during peak hours, even when there are no power outages to disrupt the flow of commuters. However, this issue is expected to be at least partially addressed when the RTS Link is completed in early 2027. The RTS Link will connect Bukit Chagar station in Johor Bahru to Woodlands North station in Singapore and has the capacity to transport around 10,000 passengers each way.
Read also: Amid worsening traffic jams in JB, Congestion Action Committee introduced to oversee roadworks /TISG