KUALA LUMPUR: The implementation of QR Codes at the Malaysia-Singapore border proved successful in achieving the objectives of reducing waiting time and speeding up the immigration process at Sultan Iskandar Building (BSI) and Sultan Abu Bakar Complex (KSAB).
The Home Ministry said during the two-month proof of concept exercise 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 where visitors who are on the Suspect List are not allowed to register this application.
The ministry said this in a written reply in the Dewan Negara which was uploaded on the Parliament website today in response to Senator Datuk Abdul Halim Suleiman's question on the effectiveness of the use of QR code during the trial period.
The implementation of QR Codes at BSI and KSAB for the time being is in a proof of concept exercise for three months starting from June 1 to Aug 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 after the visa liberalisation plan (PLV) was implemented, the ministry said a total of 1,046,231 Chinese tourists and 508,857 Indian tourists had taken advantage of the facility as of July 7.
It said this brings the total number of tourists who used the facility to 1,555,058 people.
Through PLV, which will last till Dec 31, Chinese and Indian citizens are granted visa exemption facilities for a period of 30 days.
The facility aims to generate national income and is implemented by improving the existing immigration facilities enjoyed by travellers to Malaysia, including from Europe, Southeast Asia, the Middle East and West Asia.