KUALA LUMPUR: The Immigration Services Union of Peninsular Malaysia (KPISM) has taken aim at the Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi over his frequent surprise visits to the Bangunan Sultan Iskandar (BSI) and Sultan Abu Bakar Complex (KSAB) border checkpoints.
Its president Ajeet Singh Gurbax Singh said although the move was commendable, Onn Hafiz should focus on issues regarding the people.
"The union would like to express thanks to Onn Hafiz for his frequent visits to the country's main border checkpoints as well for being sensitive and brave in giving feedback so that issues can be resolved at the department and ministry levels.
"However, the latest visit by the menteri besar to BSI on Sunday, where he found a few counters closed, led to some commotion on social media.
"At that time, KPISM was informed that officers were taking their break after peak hours and some officers needed to carry out administrative tasks typically done outside peak hours.
"KPISM views this matter as routine, with no extraordinary congestion occurring due to the recent incident."
As such Ajeet said, the Johor menteri besar should look beyond the issues at the border checkpoints and focus on other issues of the people that need to be addressed.
"There are other issues of the people such as housing for Johor residents, traffic congestion in Johor Baru city, shortages of subsidised goods like cooking oil and local rice, frequent water supply disruptions in certain areas, drainage issues in rural areas, flood-prone low-lying areas, and various other issues affecting the B40 group.
"I believe there are many more rural areas that the menteri besar has yet to visit and empathise with their difficulties, yet traffic congestion at BSI and KSAB remains a priority."
Ajeet also called for Onn Hafiz to give attention to the North-South Expressway (PLUS) congestion issue from Skudai to Ayer Hitam.
"This stretch is constantly congested due to having only two lanes compared to three and four lanes on the rest of the highway to Kuala Lumpur," he said.
Recently, Onn Hafiz expressed disappointment when 13 counters at the car lane at the Johor Causeway were not opened to the public, causing congestion.
He said the operational development of the country's border gates at the BSI Customs, Immigration, and Quarantine Complex still seemed to be lacking full efficiency.