KUALA LUMPUR: THE Vehicle Entry Permit (VEP) charge will be imposed on Singapore-registered vehicles entering Johor by the end of this year.
Deputy Transport Minister Datuk Aziz Kaprawi told the New Straits Times yesterday the VEP introduction was because of the high volume of Singapore-registered vehicles commuting to and from Malaysia.
It would be introduced at two entry points, the Johor-Singapore Causeway and Malaysia-Singapore Second Link.
Aziz said the rate of the VEP charge would be discussed very soon and would be made by the Economic Council.
The decision on the rate will be announced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, who will be chairing the council.
On Johor’s proposal that a RM20 levy and RM5 road maintenance fee be charged on Singapore-registered cars, he said it would
be discussed during the Economic Council meeting.
Aziz said the government had agreed that VEP would only be levied on Singapore cars for now.
“They (Singapore) have benefited from the facilities in our country over the years and Singaporeans do not have to pay road taxes. It is only timely that we impose the VEP.”
Statistics from the Johor Customs Department showed that about 33.5 million vehicles had used the Second Link in Gelang Patah and 4.76 million the Causeway from January to June this year.
The Transport Ministry, Aziz said, would be regulating the VEP policy, which would be executed by the Road Transport Department.
“We are fine-tuning the policy. We hope it will kick off within this year.”
Public Accounts Committee chairman Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed said economic and
social impact studies needed to be carried out on Malaysians who worked and used Singapore-registered vehicles, but lived in Malaysia.
“This can unintentionally affect them and increase their cost of living.”
Jazlan also suggested the driver’s nationality and vehicle ownership be verified during passport checks.
“We need to come up with a system to ensure that the driver
is Singaporean and not Malaysian using Singapore-registered vehicles.
“We do not wish for this move to be misinterpreted as a counter-measure to the fee imposed by Singapore, which will commence on Aug 1,” he said yesterday.
Meanwhile, Kedah state executive councillor Datuk Tajul Urus Mat Zain said Kedah would study the impact of the move before deciding whether it would follow suit for Thailand-registered vehicles.
“Kedah is supportive of the move if it could help to reduce cross-border smuggling.”
On July 1, the Singaporean authorities had announced a hike in the republic’s VEP for foreign cars from S$20 (RM52) to S$35 (RM91) per day beginning Aug 1.
Yesterday, Najib announced that Malaysia had agreed to implement the VEP charge.
However, he said the fee structure and the date of implementation would be determined
soon.
On Tuesday, the NST reported that VEP was agreed upon in 2010, but its implementation was put on hold for the policy to be refined and its execution smoothened out. Additional reporting by Sim Bak Heng