PUTRAJAYA: Beginning Oct 1, Malaysia will enforce the Vehicle Entry Permit (VEP) for all foreign vehicles entering from Singapore
Transport Minister Anthony Loke clarified that this regulation would apply to entry points at both the Customs, Immigration, and Quarantine (CIQ) complex at the Sultan Iskandar Building (BSI) in Tambak, Johor and the CIQ Complex at the Sultan Abu Bakar building at the Malaysia-Singapore Second Link.
Loke said this move would ensure that all road users fully comply with Malaysian road regulations.
"Since April 2019, the transport ministry has implemented the registration of the Vehicle Entry Permit (VEP) for foreign vehicle owners crossing the CIQ Complex at Sultan Iskandar Building in Tambak Johor and the CIQ Complex at Sultan Abu Bakar Building.
"To ensure that foreign vehicle owners fully comply with road regulations in Malaysia, the Transport Ministry wishes to inform that the VEP regulations will be fully enforced starting Oct 1.
"Anyone driving a foreign motor vehicle without VEP before entering or while in Malaysia is committing an offence in accordance with Section 66H (7) of the Road Transport Act 1987.
"If convicted, they may be fined up to RM2,000 or imprisoned for up to six months as stipulated in Section 119 (2) of Act 333,"he said at a press conference, here today.
He said the Road Transport Department (RTD) has the authority to prohibit any foreign vehicle without a VEP from entering Malaysia.
"The RTD also has the authority to prevent any foreign vehicle from leaving Malaysia if there are unresolved matters under Act 333 in accordance with the provisions under Section 66J of Act 333.
"This means that if they have commited a road offence or have outstanding summons, they would have to settle them first before leaving the country," he said.
Loke said the process to obtain a VEP is simplified whereby the VEP RFID tag will be delivered to their homes after their application and they do not have to come to Johor to take their respective tags.
He said they are charging RM10 per VEP tag and it would be valid for five years.
"All foreign vehicle owners who will be crossing Tambak, Johor and the Malaysia-Singapore Second Link can use the time from now to either renew their expiring VEP or complete the registration process to obtain the VEP for their vehicles.
"According to records, there are only about 70,000 Singapore-registered motor vehicles that have registered and activated the VEP tag compared to over 200,000 motor vehicles that have registered but have not yet completed the process of installing and activating their VEP tags.
"I have also communicated with my Singaporean counterpart on this matter," he said.
Clarifying on the late enforcement, Loke said there were numerous technical issues when the system was built in 2019 and subsequently, the pandemic hindered cross-border travelling.