Long queues at land checkpoints expected to start from Thursday: ICA

SINGAPORE — Be prepared to queue if you’re planning to head across the Tuas or Woodlands checkpoints to visit family and friends in Malaysia during Chinese New Year.

Heavy traffic and long queues are expected to start from this Thursday (Jan 26) and might last till next Tuesday as 30,000 more travellers are expected to make the trip every day across the borders during this peak festive season, said the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) on Tuesday. During non-peak period, some 400,000 travellers make the daily overland commute between Singapore and Malaysia.

To speed up the queues, the ICA also issued an advisory reminding travellers they are not to bring in prohibited items like firecrackers, and to check if the controlled items like bak kwa they are bringing in are from approved countries. Malaysia is not an approved country for meat products like bak kwa, poultry or eggs.

Travellers are also reminded to ensure that they are using their own passports with a remaining validity of six months or more. The ICA said last year, about 800 cases of Singaporeans were detected using the wrong passports or passports earlier reported as lost or stolen.

“Such cases will lead to delays and cause inconvenience to the passport holders and other checkpoints users,” the ICA said. “Passports which had been reported lost or stolen can no longer be used for travelling even if they are found subsequently.”

Any attempt to use the passports which had been cancelled by the ICA is an offence, punishable by a fine of up to S$10,000 or 10 years’ jail, or both.

Security will remain tight during the festive period as “smuggling attempts continue despite the stringent checks”, said the ICA. More than 46,000 cases of contraband items were detected at the land checkpoints last year, making it an average of 126 of such cases detected daily.

“The ICA will continue to take necessary measures to improve clearance efficiency as much as possible without compromising security. We seek travellers’ understanding and cooperation when using the land checkpoints,” said the ICA.

Those driving across the border can check the latest traffic situation by calling the traffic information hotline at 6863 0117, tuning in to the radio, or visit the Land Transport Authority’s portals on the One Motoring or MyTransport.SG  websites.