Many struggle to secure VEP tags less than a week to Malaysia’s Oct 1 enforcement

JOHOR BAHRU – With less than a week before the implementation of the Vehicle Entry Permit (VEP) for Singapore-registered vehicles, many vehicle owners, including Malaysians who work in Singapore, are worried about not being able to meet the Oct 1 deadline.

Those who are still struggling to secure the VEPs are appealing to the Transport Ministry to defer the implementation date and instead focus on improving the application process first.

Many have been making a beeline as early as 7am to the VEP centres in Johor Bahru and Singapore.

Mr Sharifuddin Mohd Din, 56, a Malaysian who runs a food store in Singapore, said he may have to take the bus if he fails to receive the VEP for his Singapore-registered vehicle by Oct 1.

“I have tried applying since over a month ago and have yet to receive the confirmation e-mail,” he said.

“Currently, I leave Johor Bahru by 2am daily as I need to prepare to open my shop by 3am. The only choice I have is to take the bus if my application is not successful by next week.”

He added that he is increasingly worried that he may have to leave the house even earlier than his usual timing if he does not receive his VEP before Oct 1.

Singaporean retiree Adnan Huzir, 62, decided to make his way to the VEP collection centre in Danga Bay, Johor Bahru, after failing to complete the application online despite multiple attempts.

He said he arrived at the centre at 9am and there were about 100 applicants waiting ahead of him.

“It has been over seven hours and I am still waiting,” he said, adding that one applicant told him that he arrived as early as 4am to beat the queue.

“There are at least 100 queue numbers after me and some have been told to come back the next day,” Mr Adnan said.

The leisure traveller said that the number of employees at the collection centre should be increased to cope with the demand.

“This is a major undertaking as thousands of vehicles cross the Johor-Singapore border daily,” he said, adding that volunteers or part-time employees can be brought in to assist drivers at the collection centre.

“I hope the Malaysian government can postpone the plan and iron out the application process first.”

Singaporean cook Joshua Tan, 37, said businesses in Johor will be affected if the Malaysian government decides to go ahead with its plan to enforce the VEP system on Oct 1.

“Most of us come to Johor to shop, eat and take a vacation, which I believe has helped local businesses. It will not be fair to them to have to suffer the consequences of this decision,” he said.

“I also do not think it will be possible for the ministry to clear the backlog of applications by Oct 1, which is just a few days away.”

Echoing a similar sentiment is another Singaporean, who wanted to be known only as Mr Raj.

“Although the announcement was made months in advance, it is still not long enough for us to complete the application as there are a lot of issues with the online system,” said the engineer.

“It is also important to note that there are thousands of vehicles, with Malaysian and Singaporean owners, crossing the border every day, and this means there is bound to be a large number of applications coming in at the same time.”

Meanwhile, Johor Indian Muslim Entrepreneurs Association secretary Hussein Ibrahim said the ministry should give Singaporeans more time to get the VEP tag.

“The enforcement of the VEP will surely affect local businesses as they may lose their Singaporean customers who have yet to get the VEP tag by Oct 1,” he said, adding that a majority of Singaporeans who shop and eat in Johor Bahru prefer driving their own cars as it is more convenient.

“Although there are those who take public transport, those who drive make up a larger percentage of the Singaporean crowd, especially those who come here on the weekends.”

Two additional locations for the installation of the radio frequency identification (RFID) tags for the VEP were opened on Sept 22.

They are located at the Road Transport Department in Taman Daya and the Southern Region Road Transport Academy in Larkin, both in Johor Bahru.

On May 28, Transport Minister Anthony Loke announced that

foreign vehicles entering Malaysia from Singapore will be required to have a VEP tag starting Oct 1.

Anyone driving a foreign-registered motor vehicle without a VEP can be fined up to RM2,000 (S$620) or imprisoned for up to six months.

Mr Loke said an estimated 18,000 Singaporean vehicles cross the Causeway into Malaysia daily, making it one of the busiest land border crossings in the world.

Upon implementation of the VEP, Singapore vehicles will be scanned during entry and exit, and continue paying the existing road charge of RM20 per entry.

The VEP was first announced in 2017. Its implementation was postponed twice, in 2019 and 2020, due to issues with the VEP-RFID tag’s installation and registration. THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK