No U-turn on VEP, motorists asked to abide by Malaysia laws: Transport minister
Malaysia will enforce its vehicle entry permit (VEP) requirement from Oct 1 as planned, with Transport Minister Anthony Loke stressing on Tuesday (Jun 25) that there will be no backtracking on this decision.
All foreign-registered vehicles entering the country by land from Singapore must have a VEP from this date.
Motorists who fail to comply risk a fine of up to RM2,000 (US$425) or up to six months' jail, the Transport Ministry announced late last month.
Loke emphasised on Tuesday that the government currently has no way of tracking foreign-registered vehicles with summonses and offences.
Once the VEP is in place, foreign motorists with violations in Malaysia will have to settle their fines before leaving the country.
"That is the message. There will be no U-turn. Oct 1, it will be enforced," he said.
Loke added that he hopes foreign drivers will abide by Malaysian laws and rules, similar to how Malaysian drivers abide by Singapore's laws.
DIFFICULTIES REGISTERING FOR VEP
To obtain a VEP, drivers must first register online and subsequently collect a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag which must be attached to their vehicle.
However, many have since reported difficulties with the process with some Singapore drivers telling CNA that they were unable to register their cars or renew their existing permits.
Drivers of secondhand cars also had vehicles that were already registered for the VEP under previous owners. Others had issues renewing their existing VEPs.
Loke acknowledged that his ministry was aware of applicants facing difficulties when registering for the VEP.
The ministry's Land Division and Road Transport Department has been instructed to investigate and simplify the process.
"Once we have rectified that (the issues), we will make some announcement," he said, adding that he would personally look into the matter and visit Johor for an inspection.
"We will make some announcements soon in terms of improvements."
Loke previously said there were about 70,000 Singapore-registered vehicles that have activated VEP tags.
More than 200,000 motor vehicles have been registered but have not completed the process of installing and activating their VEP tags.