PUTRAJAYA: Foreign-registered vehicles entering the country from both Singapore and Thailand will soon be required to have vehicle entry permits (VEP), says Transport Minister Anthony Loke.
He said VEP would be enforced in two phases, starting at border crossings with Singapore from Oct 1 this year.
Originally started in 2019, he said the VEP system will be fully enforced on routes along the Johor Causeway and Malaysia-Singapore Second Link.
The VEP tag will cost foreign vehicle owners RM10 per tag and will be valid for five years, he said.
He added that foreign vehicle owners from Singapore will be able to bring their vehicles into Malaysia to have the RFID tag installed or have the tag delivered to them for self-installation.
“All foreign vehicle owners are encouraged to register, install and activate their VEP RFID tags within the next four months before October.
“This is to avoid any issues when travelling in foreign vehicles between the two countries in the future,” he said at the ministry here yesterday.
Loke warned that foreign vehicle drivers from Singapore entering or already residing in Malaysia who fail to obtain a VEP tag for their foreign vehicles after the Oct 1 deadline will have committed an offence under Section 66H (7) of the Road Transport Act 1987.
If found guilty, drivers will be compounded, fined up to RM2,000, or jailed for up to six months under Section 119 (2) of the same Act.
Loke said the Road Transport Department (JPJ) will have full authority to deny entry to foreign vehicles into Malaysia who do not have a VEP tag after the enforcement date.
JPJ will also have the authority to prevent foreign vehicles from exiting Malaysia if there are unresolved issues.
“This will include unpaid fines or traffic summonses, among many others, under the Road Transport Act 1987,” he said.
Loke added that the decision to begin enforcement of VEP starting in October was to give ample time for foreign vehicle owners to register and install their tags.
“According to records, there are currently over 200,000 foreign vehicles applying for VEP, but only 70,000 of them have activated their RFID tags.
“As such, this four-month period would help prevent any sort of sudden mad rush of vehicle owners travelling between the two countries, which would cause unnecessary traffic congestion,” he added.
Meanwhile, phase two will involve the implementation of VEP and Road Charge (RC) for foreign vehicles entering from Thailand, which encompass eight border crossing gates.
