KUALA LUMPUR, July 1 — Malaysia began enforcing its long-delayed Vehicle Entry Permit (VEP) requirement at midnight on July 1, issuing fines to 10 Singapore-registered vehicles within the first hour of the operation, according to The Straits Times.

The move marks the end of a months-long grace period since the VEP requirement officially took effect in October 2024. Under the rule, Singaporean drivers must register their private vehicles and install a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag before entering Malaysia by land.

At the Sultan Iskandar Building’s Customs, Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ) Complex in Johor Baru, officers from Malaysia’s Road Transport Department (JPJ) began pulling over cars without the tag just as the clock struck 12. Those caught were fined RM300 before being allowed to proceed.

"I foresaw it (the VEP enforcement) coming, but I wasn’t really expecting it to be this big,” Safir Farhan, a 19-year-old Singaporean student, who was the first motorist fined, told The Straits Times.

He had entered Johor Bahru with his aunt and sister for a late supper, only to be stopped and fined on the spot.

"I had registered for the VEP already and the tag is on its way being delivered to me,” he reportedly said.

"But we’re okay and they’re (JPJ) just doing their job.”

JPJ director-general Datuk Aedy Fadly Ramli said as of June 29, more than 248,000 Singapore-registered private vehicles had signed up for the VEP, though 17 per cent had yet to activate their tags.

"We have given enough time — in fact, VEP was announced seven years ago,” Aedy was quoted as saying.

"So from July 1, if they come in without a VEP registered and fixed on their vehicles, we will issue summonses.”

All enforcement operations are taking place away from border checkpoints like the Causeway and Second Link to minimise traffic congestion. Fines must be paid electronically, and outstanding traffic summonses must be cleared before exiting the country.

Singaporean retiree Lee Kim Hock, 70, who was also stopped and fined, remained unfazed.

"My VEP is going to be delivered to me in two days. But it’s okay, I’ll just settle the fine,” he said to The Straits Times.