PUBLISHED ONJune 17, 2022 10:23 AMByKhoo Yi-HangHow far are you willing to go to dodge the hours-long queues to enter Malaysia?
For a group of people crossing the border yesterday (June 16), it seems that they would go so far as to break the law.
A TikTok video uploaded on Thursday captured them as they manoeuvred past a fence at the Johor Bahru border, walking carefully down a concrete slope, around a fence and up a grassy hill into Malaysian soil.
@budakkampung6966 𝐁𝐨𝐥𝐞𝐡 𝐤𝐞 𝐦𝐜𝐦 𝐧𝐢 #jbsgborder #jb #singapore ♬ suara asli - 🇮🇩𝐌𝐚𝐳𝐬𝐞𝐡𝐡 𝐄𝐯𝐚𝐧🦏
The video has since garnered over 550,000 views and more than 14,600 likes on TikTok.
Some Malaysian TikTok users were evidently not too happy with what they saw, with some questioning the security of the border.
"It's easy to enter my country…" One user sheepishly said in a comment that has gained over 600 likes.
But it's no laughing matter - Johor Bahru South police chief Assistant Commissioner Raub Selamat said in a statement to The Star that this incident "is being investigated under Section 6(3) of the Immigration Act".
A total of eight people, five men and three women, were identified as suspects of illegal entry by closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage of the region, the assistant commissioner added.
"The individuals involved in the illegal entry have been asked to present themselves at the Johor Bahru South district police headquarters to have their statements recorded," Raub also stated.
Johor Menteri Besar Onn Hafiz Ghazi also commented on Facebook, sharing that the Royal Malaysia Police have already taken action in response to this issue.
In addition to "24-hour police surveillance" of the area, the police have also "installed barb wire" along the Tebrau Straits - the slope pictured in the video.
Furthermore, the Malaysian police are also actively tracing the "individuals who have entered Malaysia through illegal routes".
"I have also discussed the matter [of CIQ buildings in Johor] with the Home Ministry," Onn wrote in his post.
Although incidents like this are rare, the recent problems of long, snaking queues leading into Malaysia from Singapore may have been a factor in the group’s choice of route to enter Malaysia, The Star reported.
On May 11 this year, a Singaporean and his friends were detained for a full week after the required stamp wasn't found on their passport.
A month later on June 5, a Singaporean shared on Reddit that two of his friends were uncontactable in Malaysia after they being detained for not having the proper proof of entry - their passport stamps.
khooyihang@asiaone.com
