By Mak Yuen Teen
On Tuesday, March 17, I was one of the many Singaporeans trying to make their way home after Malaysia announced the lockdown that was to start on Wednesday, March 18. I had flown up on Sunday around noon, before the Singapore government announced the 14-day stay home notice (SHN) for those returning from ASEAN countries, with those coming from Malaysia by land or sea exempted from the SHN. Unfortunately, by then, I was already in KL.
I had booked to fly back on Wednesday but thought I would return by car instead that day, for obvious reasons. That plan was disrupted too by the sudden announcement that Malaysia was going into lockdown that Wednesday. Given the uncertainty about the implications of the Malaysian lockdown, I decided to return on Tuesday instead.
So, a chauffeured car was arranged to take me back to Singapore on Tuesday morning. I left KL at 10 am and by the time I reached home, it was about 11 pm – a 13-hour journey.
Let me say that the situation was unprecedented so when I left KL, I was expecting the worse. If it had been a 13-hour journey because of the jam, I would not have written this. But it was not.
I made it to the Singapore customs at 5.45 pm (with a brief stop for lunch around noon), just grateful that I will be home soon. It wasn’t so bad I thought. But then the customs officer told me that I will have to wait because I will have to be spoken to by another officer who was in a building not far away (he pointed to it, I could see it and it was like a minute walk away).
I asked the officer why and he said he had no idea. He said that an alert came up when he scanned my passport but looking at my travel history on my passport, he said that he could see I had not travelled to any high risk countries (my last overseas trip was to KL in the second week of January, and I had cancelled several other trips). He was polite throughout, and so were the other officers who took over from him at the booth.
He warned me that there were apparently a lot of people who were being stopped for an interview and that I should expect to wait for a while. When I asked how long, he said “I think someone took two hours”. Okay, two hours, long queue, unprecedented situation – I can live with that.
I then asked if we could wait in the building. He said no, the instructions were to wait in the car because the room in the building was very small, there were a lot of people, and no place for parking around it. He then closed off that lane and he waited inside the booth, watching over us (he had both my and my driver’s passports). I didn’t really notice but a car on the lane to my right apparently pulled up about an hour after me and was in the same situation – it was another Malaysian car driving a lone passenger. That lane was closed too.
So that was two lanes, and two officers, out of action. Maybe that’s why the jam is sometimes worse than it should be? If it’s true there were many others who were in our position, how many lanes and officers became out of action?
As we waited and an hour became two, and then three, etc., my driver had asked to switch off his engine as his petrol was low (oh yes, the poor environment, with the running engine!). I had by then told the officer I needed to use the washroom, stretch, get some fresh air (I didn’t ask to run around the immigration complex).
I spoke to the nice officer and we learnt a bit about each of our family – he even offered that he planned for only two children (like me and my wife) but birth control doesn’t really always work (he even explained the birth control which failed). I really like the guy.
Soon, someone else took over, and then someone else after that. Several times, I asked the officers to call the office and tell them that we have been waiting a long time. They apparently did but were clearly concerned about annoying whoever was in the office who had given the instructions to just wait in the car.
Meanwhile, I had told the officer that I could see the building, and if there were many people, why am I seeing no queue and no one leaving the building? I wasn’t going to let those hours go to waste – I was starting to do an empirical study. In fact, I finished writing another article while I was waiting in the car. I said I was happy to wait in the office – but apparently, it was really crowded. So – very crowded, no queue outside, no one leaving – it was becoming a puzzle for me.
I was feeling really sorry for my driver. He was extremely patient. But being a Malaysian, I guess he didn’t want to say anything that offended the Singapore customs officers. As it edged ever closer to midnight, I asked the customs officer whether my driver can just be cleared and turn around back to KL. I was prepared to find my way home. I even asked how long the walk is to catch my own taxi home. I was afraid that he will not be able to return to KL with the lockdown in Malaysia and also knew the jam heading back would be horrendous too (which the officer confirmed to be so).
I was told that the driver was to stay with me. The customs officer assured me that my driver would be able to get back to Malaysia. The driver said his job was to see me safely home and he will do just that. Another true professional.
Finally, when the third officer had taken over, I told her that enough was enough. I had waited nearly five hours, I couldn’t see any queue, what is the problem? What if I collapse (I wasn’t about to) or what if someone else did? Who’s responsible? I said maybe I should tweet about this.
You need to understand that it was nearly five hours and there was no indication when my ordeal was going to end. It could be another five hours, who knows? There was no communication and the officers at the booth were clearly afraid to ask the officer in the office.
At this point, something finally happened. A few officers came around, told my driver and the one in the next lane, to move their cars. As I said, it was just a very short distance.
When I finally got into the office, there were maybe 5 to 6 people in two groups I guess, and they were on their way out.
The driver who was in the next lane was carrying a sole female passenger and they were both in the room, together with my driver. The officer who was in charge appeared to be a principal chief customs officer, a relatively young looking gentleman. The other driver and woman were cleared within minutes. When it came to my turn, I told them I have been waiting for five hours, so tell me what’s the problem?
He said “you have a flight booked to leave KL tomorrow”. I said, ya, but obviously, I am here now and returning to Singapore. You didn’t cancel the return flight, he asked? Not sure if he had tried calling SIA over the past weeks. I wasn’t going to cancel the return flight online until I could speak to SIA. But I don’t see why that should hold me up for five hours.
By now, I could observe other things. He did not appear that familiar with his job because his subordinate (a more elderly gentleman) was standing behind him explaining to him what he had to do as he was figuring out on the computer. It took a couple of minutes and we were cleared.
From what I observed during those five hours, I could see several issues which may affect our efficiency, effectiveness and responsiveness in times of unexpected events, like a crisis.
Closing off a lane each time a passenger was in my situation obviously reduced the number of lanes available. The junior officers at the booths, who were closer to the ground, were so afraid of calling the superior in the office out of fear of offending the superior. Someone with health issues could really have collapsed that day. The officer who was in charge was not familiar with his job.
If there is real crisis, and those who are more junior but closer to the ground dare not tell those who are in charge about what’s happening on the ground, we will be in deep trouble. The superior officer probably is a superior officer because of his higher educational qualifications, but from what I can see, he was not properly trained to handle the situation. We need people who can do, not people who can read and write well, in times of crisis.
From what I could see, there was never a long queue. I can guess why I was told there was a long queue but I do not wish to speculate.
I hope those who are in charge read this in the right spirit and use it as an opportunity to improve. Those who came out best that day were those who probably did not have the paper qualifications that the others who were in charge had.
The good thing is that I have not lost my sense of humour. A friend asked me if I was tested for the virus with a swab as apparently it takes about five hours to find out. I said I wasn’t tested for virus, but only for patience. There was no swab but it was pain in the #$%^.
The driver in the next lane, perhaps sensing that I was making some headway in getting all of us going, told the officers in the office that “we are together” (in Mandarin) – as he pointed to me and the woman he was carrying on his other side. I had to clarify with the officers that my driver was in the other corner. Otherwise, I could have been mistaken for having travelled down from KL with another woman who is not my wife. And it may take more than five hours to explain to my wife.
