PUTRAJAYA: Full enforcement of the Vehicle Entry Permit (VEP) scheme for foreign-registered vehicles entering Malaysia from Singapore by land will start on July 1, says Transport Minister Anthony Loke.
Loke said that a RM300 summons would be issued to foreign vehicle owners who have not registered or activated their VEP by this date.
"We began this scheme with a soft approach through advocacy in October last year. No summonses were issued then.
"But beginning July 1, summonses will be issued if there is no valid VEP," he said at a press conference at the ministry's headquarters on Wednesday (June 4).
Loke said that enforcement measures comply with Section 66H(7) of the Road Transport Act 1987, which makes it an offence to drive a foreign-registered vehicle into or within Malaysia without a valid permit.
For vehicles without a valid VEP, the summons must be paid alongside registering for the VEP before exiting Malaysia.
For pre-registered VEPs, the summons must be paid before exiting Malaysia. Private company vehicles with a pre-registered VEP will receive a reminder notice and be allowed to exit.
"The summons will be issued physically and must be paid via cashless methods at Road Transport Department counters, mobile counters, or through MyEG," he said.
Loke assured Singaporean vehicle owners that they could still enter Malaysia with their vehicles.
"But if they come in without a VEP, we will know through our systems. They will be summoned and must register for a VEP before leaving Malaysia," he said.
He explained that enforcement checks would be carried out away from the Malaysia-Singapore land border checkpoints to avoid congestion.
"It will be done through operations, not individual officers, at various locations from time to time. Rest assured, we know who they are. The system will capture which vehicles do not have the VEP," he said.
Loke added that as of June 2, 231,018 RFID tags were issued to private vehicles, with only 36,511 yet to activate or install them.
The VEP scheme for foreign vehicles entering Malaysia from Singapore by land started on Oct 1 last year, focusing on advocacy.
Foreign vehicles must have a VEP, which comes as RFID tags issued by the Malaysian Transport Ministry.
All vehicles must have installed and activated a VEP RFID tag linked to a Touch 'n Go e-wallet account.
