Malaysia mulls special immigration lane for Johor voters in Singapore returning for upcoming state polls

Malaysia mulls special immigration lane for Johor voters in Singapore returning for upcoming state polls The Malaysian home ministry will “respond accordingly” once the Election Commission announces key dates for the Johor state polls on Friday, said home minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail. JOHOR BAHRU: Malaysia is mulling a special fast lane at the immigration checkpoint for returning Johor voters from Singapore to cast their ballots in the upcoming state polls, says the country’s home minister. Speaking to reporters at an event in Batu Pahat on Tuesday (Jun 9), Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said the home ministry and the immigration department would “respond accordingly” once the Election Commission (EC) announces the key dates for the snap polls on Friday, local media reported. “We will accommodate anything that can help facilitate Johor voters’ participation in the democratic process on polling day, to the best of our ability,” he said, as quoted by local news outlet Free Malaysia Today. Johor’s state assembly was dissolved on Jun 1, paving the way for a snap election to be held within the next 60 days by Jul 31. “The choice of polling day, whether Saturday or Sunday, will have different impacts on the flow of people through the Malaysia-Singapore border crossings,” said Saifuddin, as quoted by local news platform Harian Metro. If polling day falls on a Sunday, the traffic congestion involving Malaysian commuters might not be critical as traffic on the Causeway and Second Link was usually dominated by Singaporeans entering Malaysia, said Saifuddin, as reported by Free Malaysia Today. However, he said it may be a different scenario if polling day fell on a Saturday as many Malaysians working in Singapore would still have to return for work. Saifuddin was referring to the Bangunan Sultan Iskandar (BSI) customs, immigration and quarantine complex linked to the Woodlands Causeway and Sultan Abu Bakar CIQ (KSAB) linked to Tuas Second Link. Special arrangements have been made in previous elections to facilitate border crossing for Malaysians working in Singapore. During Malaysia’s 2022 General Elections, Johor authorities prepared about 20 dedicated car lanes at the BSI customs, immigration and quarantine complex to ease the journey of thousands of Malaysians returning from Singapore to vote, The Star reported. In a 2019 parliamentary by-election for Tanjung Piai in Johor’s Pontian district, a special lane was also opened for Singapore-based voters. Over 2.7 million voters are eligible to vote in the 16th Johor state election, said the EC on Tuesday. The figure includes over 24,000 early voters, including police personnel. Approximately 42,000 election workers, including 56 Returning Officers, are expected to be appointed to manage the polls. There are 56 seats in the Johor state assembly, with 40 currently held by Barisan Nasional (BN), 12 by the Pakatan Harapan (PH) pact led by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, three by Perikatan Nasional (PN) and one by Malaysian United Democratic Alliance (MUDA). Although BN is aligned with PH at the federal level, they are rivals at the state level in Johor. Besides Johor, the EC meeting on Friday will also decide the election timeline for Negeri Sembilan’s state polls. The Negeri Sembilan state assembly was dissolved on Jun 5.