KUALA LUMPUR, July 25 — Implementing QR Codes at the Malaysia-Singapore border proved successful in reducing waiting time and speeding up the immigration process at Sultan Iskandar Building (BSI) and Sultan Abu Bakar Complex (KSAB).
The Home Affairs Ministry (KDN) said that during the two-month Proof of Concept for the use of QR code, the waiting time for the inspection of 30 bus passengers during peak hours was shortened to 15 minutes compared to 120 minutes at BSI and 90 minutes at KSAB.
"For motorcyclists, the waiting time is shortened to 30 minutes for the inspection of 30 passengers compared to 40 minutes at BSI and 45 minutes at KSAB.
"Although the QR code applications used, namely MyTrip and MyRentas, facilitate travellers in the immigration clearance process, the security aspect is not compromised.
"This initiative has been developed with security features, such as visitors who are on the Suspect List not being allowed to register for this application," it said.
KDN was responding via a written reply in the Dewan Negara, uploaded on the Parliament's website today, to Senator Datuk Abdul Halim Suleiman's query on the effectiveness of the use of QR code during the trial period.
On the other hand, visitors who are on the list will be notified to check at the manual counter.
For the time being, the implementation of QR Codes at BSI and KSAB is a Proof of Concept for three months, starting from June 1 to August 31, for motorcyclists and bus passengers before it is extended to private vehicle users, Singaporeans, and other citizens.
Meanwhile, in response to Datuk Mustafa Musa's question about the statistics of the entry of visitors from China and India when the visa liberalisation plan (PLV) was implemented, the ministry said 1,046,231 Chinese tourists and 508,857 Indian tourists had taken advantage of the facility as of July 7.
The total number of tourists who use the facility is 1,555,058.
Through PLV, Chinese and Indian citizens are granted visa exemption facilities for a period of 30 days until December 31 this year.
The facility aims to generate national income and is implemented by improving the existing immigration facilities enjoyed by travellers to Malaysia, including those from Europe, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and West Asia.
— Bernama
