Malaysia will enforce mandatory registration for foreign vehicles entering from Singapore from October, the government announced yesterday.

The long-debated Vehicle Entry Permit (VEP) scheme is expected to be carried out in three stages, beginning with the Causeway and Second Link, followed by the Malaysia-Thailand border, and then the border between Malaysia and Brunei as well as Indonesia.

The government did not say yesterday when the VEP will come into effect at the other borders.

The plan to implement a VEP at all Malaysian land borders has been delayed several times because the authorities said they needed more time to fine-tune the system. It has been in the testing stage since last year.

"The VEP for each registered motor vehicle will be valid for a period of five years," the Ministry of Transport said in a statement yesterday.

Vehicle owners can collect and install their VEP radio-frequency identification (RFID) tag at four designated centres in Johor Baru - namely, the Gelang Patah southbound rest stop, the Plaza Angsana open carpark, the Pandan rest stop and the Lima Kedai Toll Plaza.

In its statement, the ministry said the VEP would be issued by the Road Transport Department under Section 66H of the Road Transport Act 1987.

"Registration for a VEP can be done online at  https: //vep.jpj .gov.my 

"Once registered, the owner of the vehicle will receive an e-mail notification to schedule an appointment for the installation of the VEP-RFID tag.

"Only VEP-registered vehicles are allowed entry into Malaysia once it is put into force," the statement said.

Vehicle owners will need to bring along required documents to collect their VEP-RFID tag.

The new Malaysian administration intended to implement the VEP by the end of last year. An Auditor-General's report last year attributed the VEP delays to the previous administration's 200 per cent hike in operational expenditure for this project alone.

When the VEP was first proposed by the previous administration, a RM25 (S$8.20) one-time fee was mentioned.

Singapore charges a $35 VEP fee per day for every day after the first 10 days in the country.

Malaysia has an existing RM20 road charge for foreign vehicles entering the country via Johor. It is separate from the VEP and chargeable each time such a vehicle enters the country.