JOHOR BARU (Sin Chew Daily/Asia News Network) – To beat the perennial jam on Johor Causeway, many Malaysians have come up with a risky solution.
They take the short cut along the rail line from Lido Beach along the Straits of Johor to avoid the traffic jam, and then climb up to the Causeway and walk their way to the other end.
These Malaysian workers making the daily commutes to Singapore have somehow managed to evade the Malaysian immigration checkpoint.
It is understood that this short cut is quite popular among commuters around 7am to 8am morning rush hours, and the same route is taken during the evening rush hours between 7pm and 8pm when they return from Singapore.
A reader tipped off Sin Chew Daily that such “Spiderman” acts were common during morning rush hours.
He said he has already got used to seeing people climb up from the rail line, over the large water pipes onto the Causeway.
Sin Chew Daily’s reporting team checked out the shortcut, and found that it was very much in use by some impatient commuters.
These “Spidermen” are believed to have gained access to the shrubs beside the Causeway from the beach on the left just across the road from the JB police headquarters.
They later walk along the rail line beside the Causeway until the point nearest to the Causeway road surface, where they will climb up to the Causeway from the water pipes.
Our reporting team found a well-trod path in the midst of the shrubs beside the Causeway believed to have been used by the commuters over the years.
Malaysian Railway KTM Southern Region manager Omar Nazari Othman told Sin Chew Daily he was unaware of the practice as he had not received any report or complaint so far.
He said KTM could not do anything even if a person was found walking along the rail line.
“I will probe this matter and will send people there to check. We will report to the police if we find anyone doing things that will damage the rail line.”
A construction worker at a nearby site confirmed that he had seen people taking this route.
In order to have a hands-on experience with this short cut, our reporting team decided to take the shortcut themselves.
But when our reporter was about to climb up to the rail line, he was instantly stopped by someone claiming to be a KTM employee.
He told Sin Chew Daily KTM had no enforcement power and could not take any legal action against violators of KTM properties, adding that all they could do was to stop people from taking the shortcut.
A check by The Straits Times with the Singapore immigration authority’s website shows that those coming into Singapore need a passport, a valid visa, and a embarkation or disembarkation card.
Source: www.straitstimes.com
