SINGAPORE - Long queues formed at all major entry points across Malaysia after a data integration disruption led to a breakdown in the autogate system for foreign visitors.

Tens of thousands of foreigners, including Singaporeans, were unable to use the autogate facility, The Star reported on July 19. Malaysian passport holders were unaffected.

The breakdown, which started at about noon on July 18, was described as the worst ever, involving more than 200 autogates across the country.

The Malaysian Border Control and Protection Agency (AKPS) confirmed the "technical disruption" in a statement on Facebook at around 4.30pm on July 19.

It added that initial investigations pointed to a data integration disruption, which caused delays in the cross-checking process within the MyIMMS system.

Among the major gateways affected were Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) terminals 1 and 2, and the Customs, Immigration and Quarantine complexes at Bagunan Sultan Iskandar (BSI) and Kompleks Sultan Abu Bakar (KSAB).

BSI and KSAB are both in Johor, and are used by travellers entering Malaysia from Singapore's Woodlands and Tuas checkpoints respectively.

AKPS said it has activated all manual immigration counters and deployed additional personnel, among other measures, to lessen the congestion.

"AKPS is making every effort to restore the system and restore movement at all entry points in the country," it added.

At about 5.45pm, AKPS said on Facebook that autogate operations at BSI have partially resumed.

"The flow of light vehicle traffic is moving slightly slowly towards the BSI entry check zone while the flow of visitors in the bus passenger hall is back under control," it said.

The AKPS first alerted travellers to the disruption on its Facebook pages for BSI and KSAB on July 18 at 4.40pm and 10.50pm respectively. The posts said that there was an interruption of access to the Immigration Service System at both locations.

On July 19 at around 11.30am, the AKPS BSI Facebook page said that "the flow of visitors in the bus passenger hall was congested following the disruption of the autogate check system".

It added that there was no congestion at other immigration check zones inside the building.

Singapore's Immigration and Checkpoints Authority said in a Facebook post on July 19: "Travellers intending to travel to Malaysia via the land checkpoints are to expect delays. Those who are already at the land checkpoints and need to U-turn can approach officers for assistance."

Private tutor Jane Oh, 63, who was on a durian day trip in Johor with her neighbours, told The Straits Times that she could not use the autogate at KSAB when she arrived on July 19 at around 6.10am.

She said that the Malaysian officials then opened the manual counters, and she and her group cleared immigration at around 6.45am.

However, Oh's guide told her that another group of passengers that reached KSAB at around 8am cleared immigration at only around 1pm.

"We're very lucky not to be caught in the jam this morning, but we're a bit worried about how bad the queue will be when we return after dinner," said Oh.

Her worries proved unfounded, as she took about 15 minutes to clear immigration on the way back to Singapore.

She started queueing at 7.32pm and was done by 7.45pm, with four manual counters operating. The autogates were working, but she and her group could not use them, as they had used the manual counters on arrival in Malaysia.

Chelsea Teh, 25, who works in the education industry, said that she was in the queue at BSI for about one and a half hours. She added that it was "stuffy and poorly ventilated", and she saw some people leaving the queues to return to Singapore.

A Malaysian security official told The Star that tens of thousands of people, mainly Singaporeans, have been queuing at BSI for more than four hours to clear immigration.

"Weekends are a busy period and immigration officers have been told to open all lanes to clear the passports manually," the official said, adding that there are 39 autogates at the exit and 29 autogates for entry.

Johor Menteri Besar Onn Hafiz Ghazi said in a Facebook post on July 19 that he was deeply disappointed to hear of the system disruption, which lasted more than 24 hours and caused congestion.

Adding that he had paid a surprise visit to BSI, he said: "I have extended this matter directly to relevant parties at the federal level. I urge immediate steps to be taken to ensure that this issue does not repeat."

Malaysian People's Volunteer Corps personnel were deployed to man the huge influx of visitors at the two land checkpoints with Singapore, according to The Star.

The Johor-Singapore Causeway, which links Woodlands Checkpoint and BSI, is one of the world's busiest border crossings, with an estimated 300,000 people using the connection daily.

From May 8 to 13, during the Vesak Day long weekend, more than three million people crossed the Woodlands and Tuas checkpoints. The crowd peaked on May 9 at over 546,600 travellers.

Since Jan 20, 2023, Singaporeans have been able to use the electronic gate facilities at the two land checkpoints.

In February 2023, this was extended to the autogate facilities at KLIA 1 and 2.

This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.