M'sian Minister: We'll solve border jam (AsiaOne - Singapore)
S'poreans unhappy with Causeway fingerprinting (AsiaOne - Singapore)
Sabah Implements Biometric System (Bernama.com - Malaysia)
The press items from Singapore highlight the inconvenience of the new procedures. The press from Malaysia focuses on the societal problems that the new system is expected to help address.
Singapore is, by some measures, the world's busiest port and is essentially a city-state on an island at the tip of the Malay Peninsula. Any change in the border policy of one country will be intensely felt by the other. There is also quite a history between the two countries, to say the least.
Hopefully the future holds a situation where the benefits arising from the important and legitimate needs for travel and commerce between the two countries and are maximized while those vulnerable to mistreatment are protected.
The pressure is on.
See also:
Malaysia Considers Amnesty for Illegal Immigrants (NY Times)
