Malaysia’s autogates back to normal after worst chaos in years

Tens of thousands of foreigners from Singapore and elsewhere queued at autogates across Malaysia on Friday after the system failed

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Tens of thousands of foreign travellers faced hours-long queues at Malaysia’s major entry points on Friday after an autogate system breakdown. Photo: Facebook: Malaysia-Singapore Border Crossers

Published: 5:39pm, 20 Jul 2025Updated: 5:47pm, 20 Jul 2025

After more than 24 hours of chaos at major entry points across Malaysia, the situation has returned to normal, with almost all autogate systems functioning normally.

The disruption, which began at around noon on Friday, has been resolved, with foreigners being allowed to use the autogates in stages from 4.30pm on Saturday.

Checks at the Bangunan Sultan Iskandar Customs, Immigration and Quarantine complex (BSI) showed that crowds were dispersed by midnight on Saturday.

This was a stark contrast to the thousands of foreigners queuing since the autogate system failed nationwide on Friday.

The disruption, described by officials as the worst in recent years, affected more than 200 autogate machines nationwide.

A Singaporean named Lim said he was relieved the issues had been rectified, as he was in Johor to attend a funeral.

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