JOHOR BAHRU – The shortcut, also commonly referred to as “rat lane” for pedestrians to enter the Customs, Immigration and Quarantine Complex (CIQ) at the Sultan Iskandar Building (BSI) here will be closed with immediate effect.
Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi said this is being done for safety reasons following reports of accidents occurring in the area.
“The ‘rat route’ to enter BSI is being carefully studied and there is a short-term proposal to provide shuttle buses to ferry pedestrians from the Stulang area to the BSI CIQ.
“There have also been casualties, so we are worried that this will continue to happen and also (concerned about) the issue of negligence,” he told a press conference after a special committee meeting to tackle congestion at the Johor Causeway held at the BSI CIQ here today.
The online meeting was chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof and also attended by Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail and Works Minister Datuk Seri Alexander Nanta Linggi.
The media had previously reported that the rat route near Hotel Hako, along Jalan Lingkaran Dalam, would save time for Malaysian pedestrians going into Singapore as otherwise they would have to walk 1.5km around the BSI CIQ.
Meanwhile, Onn Hafiz said the state government hopes that there will be good news for Johor in Budget 2024 to be announced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim on Friday.
“All applications required by Johor have been presented to the prime minister, so we are waiting for the announcement. I am confident there will be good news for the state,” he added. – October 11, 2023