Malaysia to start requiring Singapore vehicles have entry permits from October

Action will be taken against any foreign motor vehicle without a VEP entering or in Malaysia from that date, Malaysian Transport Minister Anthony Loke said at a press conference on Tuesday.

Anyone found guilty of the offence can be fined up to 2,000 ringgit (US$427) or jailed up to six months.

Vehicles that have been registered will be fitted with a radio-frequency identification (RFID) tag that costs 10 ringgit.

Loke said the VEP has been implemented since 2019 but has not been enforced. The system was put on hold in 2020 as the government said it was looking at ways to make installation of the RFID tag easier.

Based on current records, Loke said there are about 70,000 Singapore-registered motor 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 tags.

The RFID tags, which uniquely identify each vehicle, are non-transferable.

Loke said the tags will be sent to vehicle owners for installation. “If previously, they had to come to Johor Bahru to get it fixed … now it will be sent to their address, and they can fix it themselves according to the guidelines provided,” he said.

“The system is ready, and the registration commenced in 2019, but we had not enforced it for five years. If we don’t enforce it, the system is not being utilised.”

The VEP will enable the government to track foreign vehicles that enter or leave the country, he said. “When they leave, if they have any summonses, they will have to settle them before they are allowed to leave.”

Currently, all foreign-registered cars entering Malaysia by road via Johor need to pay a levy.

Singapore-registered vehicles are required to pay a road charge of 20 ringgit for