<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR>Mega-facility at Tuas but few open booths
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->I REFER to Mr John Cheong's letter ('End traffic chaos at Tuas checkpoint', Jan 31) and the reply from the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority ('Why Tuas cannot copy Changi', Feb 19), regarding the gridlock at Tuas during Chinese New Year.
The only solution to this perennial problem is for ICA to open more immigration booths, rather than react to the situation long after the congestion has formed. Let me give an example.
During the Jan 24 crunch at Tuas, I joined the jam around 4am, even before the Fraser & Neave building. The jam was easily 2km long, but only a few booths were open. I know this from my brother who was ahead of me in the jam.
With media reports of expected heavy jams at the checkpoints before the Jan 24 weekend, surely ICA would have acted to pre-empt this mother of all jams.
Incredibly, it was only around 6am that ICA opened a second block, which added several more booths. A few Traffic Police officers also arrived to help manage the chaotic traffic, especially caused by inconsiderate queue-jumpers.
ICA refers to security checks as an underlying reason for the congestion, and I support this. But the facility at Tuas is almost always grossly under-used, with only a handful of booths open most of the time. If there is a manpower problem, why build this mega-facility in the first place?
Has ICA given thought to the safety, security and well-being of people caught in the jams? All it takes is a vehicle to short-circuit and catch fire to pose danger to those around it. And what if someone needs emergency medical assistance? I cannot imagine an ambulance being able to reach him in time.
While it took me almost four hours to clear the Singapore side on Jan 24, the Malaysian side was a relative breeze, with many of its booths open long before dawn.
Mazlan Samad
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->I REFER to Mr John Cheong's letter ('End traffic chaos at Tuas checkpoint', Jan 31) and the reply from the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority ('Why Tuas cannot copy Changi', Feb 19), regarding the gridlock at Tuas during Chinese New Year.
The only solution to this perennial problem is for ICA to open more immigration booths, rather than react to the situation long after the congestion has formed. Let me give an example.
During the Jan 24 crunch at Tuas, I joined the jam around 4am, even before the Fraser & Neave building. The jam was easily 2km long, but only a few booths were open. I know this from my brother who was ahead of me in the jam.
With media reports of expected heavy jams at the checkpoints before the Jan 24 weekend, surely ICA would have acted to pre-empt this mother of all jams.
Incredibly, it was only around 6am that ICA opened a second block, which added several more booths. A few Traffic Police officers also arrived to help manage the chaotic traffic, especially caused by inconsiderate queue-jumpers.
ICA refers to security checks as an underlying reason for the congestion, and I support this. But the facility at Tuas is almost always grossly under-used, with only a handful of booths open most of the time. If there is a manpower problem, why build this mega-facility in the first place?
Has ICA given thought to the safety, security and well-being of people caught in the jams? All it takes is a vehicle to short-circuit and catch fire to pose danger to those around it. And what if someone needs emergency medical assistance? I cannot imagine an ambulance being able to reach him in time.
While it took me almost four hours to clear the Singapore side on Jan 24, the Malaysian side was a relative breeze, with many of its booths open long before dawn.
Mazlan Samad
