LIMBANG: Authorities in Sarawak, Sabah and Brunei have been called to come up with long-term solutions to deal with the traffic jams at the border posts in Limbang and Lawas that connect with Brunei and Sabah.

Members of the public interviewed yesterday said the situation had become more unbearable in the year-end due to high volume of people going on holidays and taking advantage of the long school break in Sarawak, Sabah and Brunei.

Local man Stephen Lim and Bruneians – Dayang Junaidah, 43, and Nur Alina, in her 50s – said the two Immigration and Custom border posts at Tedungan and Pandaruan had been the worst affected, where the traffic snarl could be as long as 3km. The reckless parking by irate drivers by the roadside further aggravated the problem.

The traffic jams – occurring every day and getting worse during weekends – had not only affected visitors but also locals living in and around Pandaruan and Tedungan.

“The authorities need to find long-term solutions to these problems, which are getting worse with the increasing population.

“The long school holidays and double celebration of Christmas and New Year 2017 have resulted in the exodus of people travelling either for holiday, shopping or going back to their respective villages/hometowns,” said Lim, 50.

Dayang Junaidah, meanwhile, remarked: “We fully understand that there would be traffic jams, especially at this time of the year when people from Brunei, Sarawak and Sabah come in droves for holidays.

“Those from Brunei, for example, can be seen queuing up as early as 6am.

“What we want, at least for now, is for the authorities like traffic police or security officers, to regulate traffic flow and help ease the jam.

Those obstructing traffic by parking recklessly by the roadside should be dealt with accordingly.”

Nur Alina concurred with Lim and Dayang Junaidah, but she also reminded travellers to plan their vacation so as to avoid wasting hours of their time in the traffic snarl.