Nationwide Autogate Outage, Johor MB Slams Prolonged Disruption

After more than 24 hours of chaos at major entry points across Malaysia, the situation has finally stabilised, with almost all autogate systems now back in operation.

The disruption, which began around noon on Friday, left tens of thousands of foreign travellers stranded at airports and land crossings. By 4.30PM on Saturday (July 19), foreigners were once again allowed to use the autogates in stages, easing congestion significantly.

At the Bangunan Sultan Iskandar (BSI) Customs, Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ) complex, crowds had cleared by midnight Saturday. This was in stark contrast to the scenes on Friday, when long queues of foreign passport holders formed after the nationwide system failure.

Officials described it as one of the worst immigration system disruptions in recent years, affecting more than 200 autogate lanes across the country.

Long lines were reported at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) and Johor’s key land checkpoints, with Singaporean travellers caught in gridlock at both BSI and the Sultan Abu Bakar Complex (KSAB).

The root of the problem was traced to a data integration fault involving the MyIMMS system, which handles cross-verification for foreign nationals. The failure slowed clearance processes across all affected locations, though Malaysian passport holders were not impacted.

The Malaysian Border Control and Protection Agency (AKPS) confirmed that the MyBorderPass system for Malaysians remained functional, and that the Immigration Department had mobilised teams to resolve the issue as quickly as possible.

Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi expressed serious concern over the incident and urged federal authorities to take immediate steps to ensure it does not happen again.

Following an unannounced visit to BSI, he posted on Facebook that the breakdown, which lasted more than a day, not only inconvenienced travellers but also posed reputational risks for Johor and Malaysia.

He said slight improvements had been made by Saturday, but insisted they were insufficient given the strategic importance of BSI as one of the region’s busiest international gateways.

He added that system failures of this scale could erode public confidence and damage the country’s standing if not addressed urgently and decisively.

Source: The Star & Bernama