SINGAPORE: “Aiyo, today is Tuesday and now is 16:45 pm. Why causeway jam so badly? Jam started right after the passport clearance at JB side,” wrote Mr Derrick Lee on the COMPLAINT SINGAPORE Facebook page on Feb 20.
He accompanied his post with photos of bumper-to-bumper traffic with comments from others that surmised perhaps because of the strong Singapore dollar against the Malaysian ringgit; many are still travelling to Johor Bahru even if the holidays are over.
The strong Singapore dollar has certainly sent many Singaporeans shopping in Malaysia. Indeed, no one can be blamed for wanting to stretch their funds a little more these days, given Singapore’s high cost of living.
Read related: Singaporeans flock to Malaysia for shopping as ringgit hits another low
Malaysia’s currency has struggled in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and also because of the weakness of China’s economy, as China is Malaysia’s biggest trading partner.
On Feb 21, the ringgit reached a new all-time low of 3.5725 to S$1. The previous low had been marked earlier this month, at MYR 3.541 to S$1.
Read also: 1SGD = 3.5418MYR in all-time low for ringgit
And traffic is not a new occurrence in Singapore, especially at the land borders to Malaysia.
This is especially true during holidays or holiday seasons, and the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) issued a warning before the Chinese New Year holidays that clearing the checkpoints at Woodlands and Tuas may take as much as three hours during the holidays.
ICA has asked motorists to check the traffic situation at the land checkpoints before starting their travels. They can do this through the Land Transport Authority’s (LTA) One Motoring website or the Expressway Monitoring & Advisory System installed along the BKE and AYE.
Updates will also be available via the authority’s Facebook and X (formerly Twitter) accounts.
ICA has also warned drivers not to cut queues, which can make traffic worse and unsafe for other drivers. “Errant motorists caught queue cutting will be turned away and made to re-queue,” it warned. /TISG