Pardon the Long Absence (The Johor Bahru Attachment)

To anyone and everyone who have stumbled upon this blog, and keeping their fingers crossed in hopes of some civil education and professional advice on medications, and regulatory control of drugs, our apologies for the lack of updates. Somehow this month, our schedule has been bordering on lunacy, with activities almost every other day.

Our Johor counterpart

Last week, for 2 days, our office sent 8 officers over to Johor Bahru for attachment/industrial training (?) at their customs department, and entry points. CPF Johor is screening several ports and entry points, to avoid illegal drugs/medicines being smuggled into the country, unknowingly. Tanjung Kupang, Tanjung Pelepas, Pasir Gudang and Tanjung Puteri are some of the spots being monitored, and some being round-the-clock (with 2 shifts, up til 12 midnight).

Pasir Gudang port

Roughly 20 minutes from town is the Pasir Gudang port, with ships docking, and acting as a terminal for unloading shipments, mostly in gigantic contennas. Unlike the practice in Perak, whereby the officers are informed of incoming goods ad hoc, CPF Johor stations an officer at every entry point by rotation basis, to inspect and approve the imported items. Of course, being pharmacy enforcement officers, our duty is to clear products such as medicines, herbal products, cosmetics, some food products, and various uncategorized items.

Tight security guarding the Pasir Gudang port

They utilise a system named Sistem Maklumat Kastam (SMK), developed by Johor custom dept. Meanwhile, we in Perak still practise manual-clearing of consignments, but bear in mind the number of entry point in Perak is limited (only Ipoh Cargo Terminal near Jalan Tun Abdul Razak, and the main post office for parcels).

Hundreds and thousands of trucks/lorries at Tanjung Puteri

Some entry points are busier than the others, an example being Tanjung Puteri, a hotspot for lorries/trucks crossing over to Singapore and vice versa. The workload can be overwhelming at times, requiring rapid clearance of consignments, else risk being queried or rushed.

Magnificient architecture of Tanjung Pelepas entry point

The interior of the building

The entry point at Tanjung Pelepas is extremely far from civilization, erm, I mean the city. The number of consignments are fewer compared to the others, therefore the enforcement office allocated is seldom occupied. More for collecting dust. But at a rate of RM400/month of rental, no less. But of course, the system being a multi-network controlled one, any enforcer at another entry point can approve the consignment at this port, if the need arises.

Ferry terminal at The Zon

Last but not least, CPF Johor still conduct passengers-checking where relevant. At the ferry terminal near The Zon Regency Hotel (in fact, the terminal's connected), quite a number of Indonesian passengers alight, some may carry unregistered medicines or illegal medicines. Screening of passengers require the assistance of the custom officers stationed at the terminal.

CPF Perak hereby would like to extend our utmost gratitude to CPF Johor for being such gracious host, assisting us in every way imaginable, and offering us an amazing opportunity to learn for the betterment of our own state.