Long queue, several hours of waiting at KDN Complex Setia Tropika

JOHOR BAHRU: Having to endure several hours in long queues since early morning just to get the waiting number is among the challenges faced by the public when obtaining services at the Home Ministry (KDN) Complex, Setia Tropika, here.

Many of them decided to go to the complex early with the hope to beat the crowd and did not have time to have breakfast, only to find many others were already in long queues at the entrance of the complex.

One of them, Nur Hazwan Sharifulazman, 37, said that he came today to inquire about his passport renewal which was done online and although he arrived as early as 7.50 am, people had already queued about 400 metres from the entrance of the complex.

Working in Singapore as a facility manager at a private company for the past six years, Nur Hazwan said people had to get a waiting number from the immigration officer at the entrance, before being allowed to enter the complex and then had to pick up the number again at the counter provided, according to their respective affairs.

"Around 8 am, there was an immigration officer who gave out a waiting number to the people queueing outside the entrance, and I was lucky enough to get the number.

He said that he had to wait for four hours, from 8 am to 12 noon, to get the waiting number again at the counter to deal at the immigration office," said the father of the two when met at the complex, today.

He also added that the relevant parties need to review the management system in the complex and make improvements, to ensure that such issues do not recur as the long process also involved senior citizens as well as those who brought along their small children.

Mohd Nasiruddin Md Nazim, 31, who was at the complex regarding his passport renewal, said he was thankful that a good samaritan gave him bread and a bottle of drink as he did not have time to have breakfast.

"Although the process to renew the passport was done online, we to pick it up at the counter. I came today to ask for information on whether my passport is ready, as it has not been confirmed yet," said Mohd Nasiruddin who has been working as a barista in a restaurant in Singapore since 2011.

Earlier, several video clips and photographs were circulating on social media showing people in long queues outside the entrance of the complex.

Menteri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi also went down to the field this morning to check the situation at the complex as he said the public had faced the same problem since May 1 and asked the state Immigration director Baharuddin Tahir to meet him today.

Meanwhile, Baharuddin, when met by reporters at the complex today, said the huge crowd at the complex was due to a large number of people wanting to renew their international passports following the reopening of the country's borders on April 1.

He said some of them also had various other affairs in other departments such as the National Registration Department which was also housed in the complex.

He added that before the reopening of the borders, an average of 700 copies of international passports were issued by the department daily. The number then increased to 1,000 copies a day in April and in May, up to 1,800 copies of passports were issued daily.

Baharuddin said not only the KDN Complex in Setia Tropika was the focus of the public, but also nine other passport issuance offices statewide, including the office in the Mersing district which only has two to three counters.

Regarding the meeting with Menteri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz this morning, he said all initiatives to improve passport processing implemented by the department were explained during the meeting.

"The Menteri Besar agreed to help in terms of facilitating those who are in long queues, including setting up tents and providing chairs and fans for them," he said.

Apart from that, the Johor Immigration Department will also assign officers and personnel as early as 4.30 am to distribute the waiting numbers as the feedback received found that the public was queueing that early to get the waiting numbers.

Meanwhile, Onn Hafiz, in a post on his official Facebook page, said one of the solutions was to improve and simplify the process of getting the waiting number and provide a more comfortable waiting area for the public.

He added that the Kota Raya Urban Transformation Centre (UTC) and Pasir Gudang UTC will operate from 8 am to 10 pm daily; other office operations will also continue to be extended until 10 pm throughout Johor, while office operations on Saturdays will be from 8 am to 12.30 pm.

-- BERNAMA