Malaysia’s VEP enforcement kicks off on July 1; errant Singapore drivers fined $90

JOHOR BAHRU – Traffic was snarled up soon after midnight on July 1 as motorists entered Johor Bahru via the Causeway, with the Malaysian authorities commencing full enforcement action on Singapore-registered vehicles entering the country without a Vehicle Entry Permit (VEP).

As the clock struck midnight, 55 officers from the Road Transport Department (JPJ) stationed at the exit road of the Bangunan Sultan Iskandar customs, immigration and quarantine complex heading towards the state capital started pulling aside cars that did not comply with the new rules.

Drivers of private individually owned vehicles entering Johor Bahru without a valid registered and activated VEP

face a RM300 (S$90) fine

that they have to pay before they are allowed to leave the country.

“I foresaw it (the VEP enforcement) coming, but I wasn’t really expecting it to be this big,” said 19-year-old Safir Farhan, who was the first motorist to be issued a fine at the roadblock.

The Singaporean, a third-year vocational institute student, was driving his family’s car to Johor Bahru for a late supper with his aunt and sister, but the trip was delayed by 15 minutes as he had to settle the fine on the spot at a JPJ mobile service van parked on the roadside.

Within the hour, 10 Singapore-registered vehicles were issued summonses, JPJ officers told The Straits Times.

“I had registered for the VEP already and the tag is on its way to being delivered to me,” Mr Safir said, showing ST the acknowledgement e-mail from JPJ. “But we’re okay and they’re (JPJ) just doing their job,” he added.

The full enforcement of the rule marks the end of a grace period where vehicles were let off with a warning after the VEP was implemented on Oct 1, 2024.

In May that year, Malaysian Transport Minister Anthony Loke had said that foreign-registered vehicles entering Malaysia from Singapore must have a VEP tag, starting from October.

He then announced on Oct 4 that enforcement action against motorists without a VEP had yet to begin, and those without the radio frequency identification (RFID) tag

would be given only a warning upon exiting Malaysia

, reminding them to apply for the permit.

On June 4, 2025, Mr Loke said “ample time” had been given since May 2024 for foreign-registered private vehicles to register for the VEP system before entering Malaysia by land from Singapore.

The day after his comments, waves of Singapore motorists showed up at VEP application and installation centres in Singapore and Johor Bahru.

On June 30, when ST visited the TCSens VEP inquiry centre in Danga Bay in Johor Bahru at around 8.30pm, there were dozens of Singaporean motorists in the queue seeking assistance for their VEP registration. TCSens is Malaysia’s ministry-appointed vendor for handling VEP matters. 

Long wait times and queues persisted when ST visited the centre again at around 12.30pm the following day.

Singaporean photographer John Goh, 38, visited the Danga Bay centre at 9am on June 30 to register his mother’s car for a VEP, but he left as the queue numbers had all been given out. When he returned the next morning, he was finally attended to at about 4pm.

Mr Mustafah Kamal, 45, went to the same centre at 11.30am on July 1 to fix an appointment for VEP activation for his car, but counter staff told him two hours later that the request had to be made online.

“I’ve tried booking an appointment before, but it’s always full and the timings were not friendly to my schedule, so I’m trying my luck today,” the Singaporean cafe owner said.

Another Singaporean who was also there, construction manager Danny Ang, 56, who registered for a VEP but has yet to activate the permit, said: “I’ve been coming to JB for many months and never faced any issues. But now they’re going to check us so I have to settle this (today).”

TCSens told ST that the Danga Bay centre will be operating on a 24-hour basis from June 30.

Speaking to the media on July 1, JPJ director-general Aedy Fadly Ramli said that as at June 29, 248,504 Singapore-registered private, individually owned vehicles have been signed up for the VEP, with 17 per cent yet to have the RFID tags activated. That figure was 231,018 on June 4, according to Mr Loke. 

A further 3,765 company vehicles have been issued the tags, said Datuk Aedy, adding that the JPJ has received 19,690 VEP applications for this category of vehicles so far.

On June 4, Mr Loke said that company vehicles for which a VEP has been applied for but have yet to receive the relevant approvals will not be subject to fines. Instead, a reminder notice will be sent and they will be allowed to exit Malaysia. This is due to the additional steps involved in submitting corporate documentation.

However, company vehicles not registered yet for a VEP must have any compound fines settled and their VEP registration completed before being allowed to exit Malaysia, he added.

“The majority of Singaporeans abide by the rules but for only a small number of them, we have to ensure they follow Malaysia’s rules,” said Mr Aedy.

He added that summonses will be issued to all Singaporean motorists driving privately owned vehicles who have yet to register for and install the VEP regardless of their excuses, including drivers who claim they are entering Johor Bahru to settle VEP matters.

Asserting that enough time had been given since the VEP was first announced, Mr Aedy said: “During that time, we have made many efforts to encourage Singaporeans to register for it. So from July 1, if they come in without a VEP registered and fixed (on their vehicles), we will issue summonses.”

All enforcement operations will be conducted away from border entry points – the Causeway and Second Link – to prevent congestion, he added.

Cashless-only payment for the fines can be made at JPJ counters, JPJ mobile counters or online via the MyEG system. The RFID tag enables the Malaysian authorities to identify foreign-registered vehicles on the country’s roads and track any outstanding fines for traffic offences, which must be settled before the vehicles exit the country.

The enforcement move comes eight years after the VEP plan was first mooted in 2017, and implementation of the system was shelved twice, in 2019 and again in 2020.

Singaporean retiree Lee Kim Hock, 70, another driver who was stopped by JPJ officers at the roadblock, said: “My VEP is going to be delivered to me in two days. But it’s okay, I’ll just settle the fine.”