JOHOR BAHRU: A total of 100,000 Singapore-registered vehicles entering Malaysia are expected to be registered with a Vehicle Entry Permit (VEP) within these two months following the enforcement of the system on Oct 1.
Transport Minister Anthony Loke Siew Fook said the number involved vehicles passing through two land route entrances, namely the Sultan Iskandar Building (BSI) here and the Sultan Abu Bakar Complex (KSAB) in Iskandar Puteri.
"Since the VEP enforcement announcement was made on May 28, we have received 58,791 new applications from Singapore-registered vehicle owners through the counter and also online.
"Only 19,640 applications have been completed; 11,435 applications are in process; for the rest about 40% failed because the documents were incomplete," he said at a press conference after inspecting the operation of the VEP Collection Centre (VCC) in Danga Bay here on Thursday (Aug 1).
He said the Transport Ministry expects to receive another 50,000 new applications in the last two months before the enforcement of the system.
"This system has been available since 2019 with an allocation amounting to over RM100mil, but at that time its use had not yet been fully implemented. But we have announced commencing enforcement on Oct 1.
"Every day an estimated 18,000 Singaporean vehicles enter Malaysia through BSI and KSAB but only around 10 to 15 per cent have registered VEP," he said, adding that the price of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) VEP remains at RM10 for a period of five years.
According to Loke, the enforcement of VEP at the Malaysia-Singapore land border is not intended to prevent citizens of the republic from driving private vehicles into the country, but rather to ensure that local laws are obeyed.
"We don't want to scare them, we do encourage them to come in and shop here, but they have to follow local rules. This system is to ensure that the information of every vehicle that enters the country includes the outstanding summons of the vehicle in the country," he said.
On May 28, Loke announced that the Foreign VEP Regulation at the Malaysia-Singapore land border will be fully enforced from Oct 1 to ensure that foreign vehicle owners comply with road rules.
Loke said after that period, enforcement action will be imposed against any driver who drives a foreign vehicle without a VEP in accordance with Section 66H (7) of the Road Transport Act 1987 (Act 333).
Those who are convicted can be compounded or fined not exceeding RM2,000 or imprisoned for a period not exceeding six months as stipulated in Section 119(2) under Act 333. - Bernama
