SEPANG, Jan 11 — Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail explained today that the Immigration QR code clearance system was implemented due to complaints from Malaysian travellers after the passport autogates were also opened to 63 other countries.
The home minister said that as of today, around 400,000 users have downloaded the MyBorderPass app to utilise the QR code system — with an average of around 10,000 users daily.
“If travellers only rely on manual counters, it will contribute to congestion. So we opened the autogate, the original one, to travellers from 63 countries,” he told reporters at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) here.
“That provided convenience to international travellers, but complaints came from Malaysians. ‘We’ve lost our privilege. We have to queue for a long time,’ were among the complaints.”
A recording of the press conference was made available to the media.
Saifuddin Nasution said he had tried out the system himself today, and found that it only took roughly four seconds for his QR code to be read — out of the 60 seconds allocated to each QR code before it refreshes.
“This is really a game changer,” he said.
Saifuddin Nasution said RM19.2 million was spent to install 20 QR code lanes each in Terminals 1 and 2 of KLIA.
He also reminded Malaysians that they will still need to carry their passports, but would no longer need to stamp them at Immigration counters.
This comes as he said 30 million visitors entered the country last year, with the Malaysian Aviation Commission requiring 85 per cent of waiting visitors to be processed within 20 minutes.
