MORE than 500 local holidaymakers who spent the long weekend in Sabah, Malaysia, almost did not make it back into Brunei Darussalam on Sunday night when they arrived at the Limbang border late at around 10.30pm.
The Control Post had shut its gates at around 10.15pm. It was not until more than two hours that the immigration authorities of both Limbang and Brunei agreed to reopen the control post for the stranded travellers.
According to informed sources, the reason why so many people were “temporarily left stranded” was due to the sudden influx of Brunei-registered vehicles returning from Sabah after the long weekend break.
The only way back and forth to Brunei from Sabah is via the Temburong-Limbang ferry services. Observers noted that the ferry operating between these two points can only accommodate up to 10 vehicles per trip.
“We waited four hours before it was our turn to board the ferry,” said Awang Ali, who spent the long weekend in Kota Kinabalu with his family.
“By the time we reached the Limbang border, it was around 10.30pm. It was already too late. The Limbang Immigration was closed.”
Many of those stranded pleaded with officials in Limbang that night to let them go through.
According to Awang Ali, officials in Limbang said that they would only be allowed through if Brunei’s Immigration agrees to reopen its control post.
“We thought we might have to spend the night in Limbang if we weren’t allowed through the border,” said another stranded Bruneian, Awang Shahminan. “The head of Limbang Control Post also spent some time with the stranded travellers to calm them down.”
The Brunei-Muara District Officer, Dato Paduka Awang Haji Md Yussop bin Bakar, also rushed to the Kuala Lurah Border Control Post, to monitor the situation and to listen to the woes of frustrated Bruneian travellers.
Thirty minutes past midnight, Immigration officers were called in to reopen the Kuala Lurah Control Post to let the travellers through.
To avoid this from ever happening again, Awang Shahminan thinks that it would be a good idea to have a communication link between the immigration control posts of Brunei and Malaysia informing both sides if there are still vehicles crossing the border.
Latest by James Kon:
- Royalty at CNY get-together
- 'City in the Garden' for a 'Green' Brunei
- CCTV to be installed at Kiulap roundabout
- HSBC Brunei celebrates Year of Dragon
- Collision claims two lives
