Malaysia recently began strict enforcement of its Vehicle Entry Permits (VEP) in its border with Singapore. Though thousands of vehicles registered for the VEP, 42,000 permits are still unactivated.
WHAT IS VEP?
A VEP or Vehicle Entry Permit permits a foreign vehicle to enter Malaysia. Before entering the country, all foreign vehicles must be registered through an online portal. Afterwards, each unique vehicle will be given a non-transferrable RFID tag what will be used for entry.
Upon entering Malaysia with the registered permit and RFID tag, border systems will charge private vehicles with a road charge (RC) of MYR 20, or around AUD 7. The fee is imposed per entry and excludes private motor vehicles. Currently, an announcement has not yet been made, but Malaysia intends to include motor vehicles in the near future.
AT THE BORDER
VEP enforcement began last 1 July in the Causeway and Second Link, before approaching the Singapore-Malaysia border. Ten Singaporeans were fined MYR 300 (AUD 109) for not obtaining a VEP within the first hour of enforcement. Meanwhile, some avoided the fine for neglecting to register or activate theirs and instead lined up at the VEP centre in Danga Bay.
According to Channel News Asia (CNA), majority of the issued fines were given at a checkpoint on midnight of 1 July. The checkpoint was held until 4AM and enforced by 55 officers.
Malaysia’s Ministry of Transport (JPJ) Director-General Aedy Fadly Ramli said of the latest enforcement that there will be “no more excuses” for disregarding the VEP. “We announced this years ago and gave plenty of time to comply.”
QUEUES AND REGULATION
Before 1 July, JPJ received an influx of VEP registrations, mostly from Singaporeans wanting to enter Malaysia. Reports claimed a long waiting queue in VEP centres in both Malaysia and Singapore. These centres began a 24-hour operation to accommodate the incoming registrations.
“We welcome the presence of Singaporeans in this country. Generally, they comply with the rules, but there are still a few who have not registered and activated the VEP,” Ramli added.
At present, there are over 206,000 private vehicles and 3,765 commercial vehicles with activated VEP tags. Around a fifth of these vehicles, 42,416 have not yet been activated by their owners. Drivers of private vehicles with unactivated tags must pay their fines before leaving Malaysia, while commercial vehicle drivers will receive a reminder notice. Those who refuse to pay their fines will be blocked from exiting Malaysia and a fine of up to MYR 2000 (AUD 728) or up to 6 months jail time.
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