WOODLANDS IMMIGRATION CHECKPOINT (Reasons for traffic congestion)

Mr Chiam See Tong asked the Minister for Home Affairs what are the reasons for the traffic congestion at the immigration checkpoints at Woodlands and what steps are being taken to improve the situation.

The Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Home Affairs (Assoc. Prof. Ho Peng Kee) (for the Minister for Home Affairs): Mr Speaker, Sir, the main reason is that the number of travellers passing through the Woodlands Checkpoint has risen rapidly over the years. In 1990, the daily average was about 176,000. This increased to 181,000 in 1991 and 187,000 in 1992. In the first six months of this year, the daily average has hit 190,000.

At the same time, the number of vehicles passing through the Checkpoint has also increased. Given this large number of travellers and vehicles, some traffic congestion is unavoidable from time to time.

Furthermore, on certain occasions when immigration and anti-narcotics operations and surprise checks are conducted at the Checkpoint on persons entering Singapore, the time for clearance of arriving travellers may be lengthened.

The Immigration Department has taken measures to ease the problem. For example, when there is congestion, Traffic Police, which normally deploys two to three officers at the Checkpoint for the morning peak period, has doubled its force. This has improved traffic flow. In addition, Immigration Department is recruiting more staff and this will increase clearance capacity.

For the longer term, as has been announced in Parliament, a new and much larger Checkpoint is being developed at Woodlands. Land has already been reclaimed for this purpose. The new facilities are expected to be operational by late 1996 or 1997. Traffic flow will then be better managed and persons entering or leaving Singapore will be cleared in a much shorter time.

Meanwhile, the Immigration Department, together with the Police, will continue to monitor the situation and will take all necessary measures to ensure speedy clearance.

Mr Chiam See Tong (Potong Pasir): Sir, as one who travels to Johor at least two or three times a year, as far as I can remember, every time I travelled to Johor there was always a traffic jam. There was never once where the traffic was clear. Anyway, I am happy to hear that the Ministry is enlarging the immigration facilities at Woodlands. On the checking of passports, can the Parliamentary Secretary tell me whether they are checking on other matters, rather than just the validity of the passports? Perhaps the immigration officers are checking too many things. That is why they are taking too much time. If the passport is valid, they should allow him to go. Maybe they are checking too many things.

Assoc. Prof. Ho Peng Kee: The Member would appreciate that there is a need to ensure that people who travel through the Checkpoint have valid travel documents. That is the first point. Measures have been taken to computerise. In fact, there is a computer unit that helps to check the passports and other travel documents in an expeditious manner.

I do not know when Mr Chiam passed through the Checkpoint. Maybe he chose days when it was terribly crowded. But let me assure the Member that steps have been taken to expedite the clearance process by Immigration at the Checkpoint.

Mr Chiam See Tong: Another very stressful experience at the Causeway is queue jumping. I do not know whether the Parliamentary Secretary can comment on this.

Assoc. Prof. Ho Peng Kee: Was the Member one of those who jumped queue? I think this is something that disturbs all motorists. Queue jumping is something we will not feel very happy if we are affected. In any case, the Traffic Police have been deployed at the Checkpoint to ensure that there is no queue jumping.