JOHOR BARU: 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 the island republic, are worried about not being able to meet the Oct 1 deadline.
Those who are still struggling to secure the VEP 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 Baru and Singapore.
Sharifuddin Mohd Din, 56, a Malaysian who runs a food store in Singapore, may have to take the bus if he fails to get 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 email.
“Currently, I leave Johor Baru 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.
“This means I will have to leave my house even earlier,” he said, adding that he is getting increasingly worried.
Singaporean retiree Adnan Huzir, 62, decided to make his way to the VEP collection centre in Danga Bay here after failing to complete the application online despite multiple attempts.
“I arrived at 9am, and by then, there were already about 100 applicants waiting ahead of me. It has been over seven hours and I am still waiting.
“One of the applicants told me that he came as early as 4am, despite the office only opening at 9am.
“There are at least 100 queue numbers after me and some have been told to come back the next day,” he said.
Adnan, who frequently visits Johor Baru for leisure, said the number of staff at the centre should be increased.
“This is a major undertaking as thousands of vehicles cross the Johor-Singapore border daily.
“They need to have more people working on this and consider bringing in some volunteers or part-timers to help out.
“I hope the Malaysian government can postpone the plan and iron out the application process first,” he added.
Singaporean cook Joshua Tan, 37, said businesses in Johor would 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.
“I also do not think it will be possible for the ministry to be able to clear the backlog of applications by Oct 1, which is just a few days away,” he said.
Echoing a similar sentiment is another Singaporean who only wanted to be known as 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.
“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,” said the engineer.
Meanwhile, Johor Indian Muslim Entrepreneurs Association (Perusim) secretary general 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.
“A majority of Singaporeans who shop and eat here prefer driving their own cars, as it is more convenient and they can also go to more places if they have their own transport.
“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,” he said.
Two additional locations for the installation of the Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags for the VEP were opened on Sunday.
They are located at the Road Transport Department (JPJ) in Taman Daya and the Southern Region Road Transport Academy in Larkin, both in Johor Baru.
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 or imprisoned for up to six months, upon conviction.
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.
