KUALA LUMPUR\/JOHOR BAHRU<\/span> \u2013 Are you allowed to cross the Causeway on foot? The answer, it appears, depends on who you ask. <\/p>\n The Malaysian authorities told The Straits Times that they are stepping up efforts to remind pedestrians that walking along the entire stretch of the Johor-Singapore Causeway is prohibited. <\/p>\n However, the Singapore authorities maintain that there are no specific rules prohibiting walking \u201con the Singapore side of the Causeway\u201d.<\/p>\n Discussions over whether it is legal to cross the Causeway on foot surfaced online recently, after the Malaysian authorities installed a new \u201cno walking\u201d sign near their checkpoint.<\/p>\n Some netizens questioned the timing of the installation since some daily cross-border commuters have been regularly walking across the Causeway as a last resort to beat peak-hour congestion.<\/p>\n The Singapore authorities maintain that there are no specific rules prohibiting walking \u201con the Singapore side of the Causeway\u201d.<\/p>\n PHOTO: MALAYSIAN HIGHWAY AUTHORITY<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n ST understands that the sign might have been installed after a spate of accidents involving pedestrians on the Causeway in recent months. <\/p>\n An international boundary line near the middle of the 1.05km Causeway divides the bridge between the two countries.<\/p>\n The boundary is clearly marked by two yellow boxes, as well as a change in the language used for road markings \u2013 \u201cbus\u201d and \u201ccar\u201d on the Singapore side, and \u201cbas\u201d and \u201ckereta\u201d on the Malaysia one.<\/p>\n A January 2009 report by ST said the Malaysian authorities prohibited walking across the Causeway after the Bangunan Sultan Iskandar (BSI) Customs, Immigration and Quarantine Complex opened in December 2008, for \u201csecurity\u201d reasons. <\/p>\n Responding to ST queries on April 15, the Malaysian Highway Authority (LLM) reaffirmed that walking along the Causeway is strictly prohibited \u2013 in either direction.<\/p>\n \u201cLLM, together with PLUS Malaysia Berhad as the concessionaire company for this highway, would like to inform that users are not allowed to walk along the Johor Causeway, whether from the Malaysian border to Singapore or from the Singapore border to Malaysia,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n The Malaysian Highway Authority reaffirmed that walking along the Causeway is strictly prohibited \u2013 in either direction.<\/p>\n PHOTO: MALAYSIAN HIGHWAY AUTHORITY<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n This measure is for safety reasons and to prevent trespassing, it added.<\/p>\n \u201cWalking along the Johor Causeway not only is dangerous for users, but also violates the established regulations. Therefore, users are advised to use the available public transportation services, such as buses, to travel between Malaysia and Singapore to ensure their safety.\u201d<\/p>\n Under Malaysian law, those who violate traffic signs may be fined between RM300 (S$100) and RM2,000. <\/p>\n Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Singapore\u2019s Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) told ST: \u201cThere are currently no changes to pedestrians\u2019 access on foot on the Singapore side of the Causeway.\u201d<\/p>\n This means that while pedestrian movement is not actively facilitated, there is no new prohibition introduced by Singapore authorities.<\/p>\n There is a pavement from Woodlands Checkpoint to the foot of a highway ramp that leads to the BSI.<\/p>\n The new \u201cno walking\u201d sign is installed at the end of this pavement, on the Malaysian side of the Causeway.<\/p>\n Beyond that point, pedestrians would have to walk on the road shoulder to get to the BSI.<\/p>\n At the BSI, a signboard next to the roads leading to Singapore reads: \u201cThe route beyond Bangunan Sultan Iskandar towards Woodlands via the Johor Causeway is a restricted area for pedestrians. Any accidents are at your own risk.\u201d<\/p>\n In practice, however, thousands of Malaysians walk across the Causeway daily to escape traffic congestion at peak hours, although it is unclear what the exact numbers are.<\/p>\n Overall, it is estimated that more than 300,000 Malaysians travel to Singapore daily for work or school, making the Causeway one of the world\u2019s busiest land borders.<\/p>\n Most of them rely on chartered or public buses. There is also a Keretapi Tanah Melayu Tebrau Shuttle train service connecting JB Sentral and Woodlands.<\/p>\n Under Malaysian law, those who violate traffic signs may be fined between RM300 (S$96) and RM2,000.<\/p>\n PHOTO: MALAYSIAN HIGHWAY AUTHORITY<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Those who cross the Causeway on foot told ST that they are aware of Malaysia\u2019s rules, but sometimes turn to walking to save time and avoid being late for work.<\/p>\n \u201cDuring peak hours, the current bus capacity is simply unable to cope with the overwhelming volume of people,\u201d Johorean commuter Loo Yong Tat told ST, adding that the bus queue is usually \u201cvery long\u201d during peak hours.<\/p>\n Because of this, he said, and \u201ccoupled with severe traffic jams, many commuters find themselves stuck at the checkpoint, unable to move forward or turn back\u201d.<\/p>\n Mr Andrew Chen Kah Eng, assemblyman for Johor\u2019s Stulang constituency, said in a Facebook post on April 13 that he has \u201crepeatedly proposed\u201d the construction of a covered pedestrian walkway on the Causeway \u2013 without success.<\/p>\n \u201cI still hope that the governments of both Malaysia and Singapore will seriously consider it, so that in the future, people will have an additional safe option to cross the border besides the RTS (Rapid Transit System) and buses,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/picture><\/div>
<\/picture><\/div>
<\/picture><\/div>