KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 6 — Transport Minister Anthony Loke said the Vehicle Entry Permit (VEP) system has been put on hold while the ministry works on finding an easier way for cars from Singapore to register for a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag.
Without giving a definite timeline, Loke said the ministry will use the next six months to figure out a way for easier installation of the tags and hopefully implement the VEP system by the second half of the year.
According to statistics provided by the Ministry of Transport (MOT), there are 218,146 cars registered for RFID but only 61,253 installed so far.
“But we know there are easily more than a million cars coming into Johor,” said Loke when met by reporters today at the KTM Kuala Lumpur station.
“If we implement the system now, it’ll be problematic. We’re working on a programme and hopefully by the second half of the year, we can implement. For now we give it six months to try to solve the problem.”
On April 25, 2019, Malaysia’s transport ministry announced that foreign vehicles entering Malaysia will have to display a VEP from October 1. Registered foreign vehicles will have to install and display a VEP-RFID tag on their windshields.
However with the majority of foreign cars not registered or unable to register for the tag, the implementation of the VEP system had to be postponed several times.
There were complaints that motorists had to endure long waits, scarcity of appointment slots, as well as difficulty in getting help from Malaysian authorities in obtaining the RFID tags.
Loke, when asked what the problem was, said it had to do with installation.
“The problem is the installations,” said Loke.
“The system done by the vendor only has four stations to install RFID. It’ll take a long time. We are working on finding a better mechanism to make it simpler and easier for Singapore cars to install RFID.”
The four locations to install RFID are Pandan RnR and Gelang Patah Southbound RnR which is near the Woodlands checkpoint while the Angsana Open Carpark C and Lima Kedai Toll Plaza are near the Tuas checkpoint.
The VEP is currently RM25 and is a five-year permit while the road charges, which every car must pay when entering Malaysia through Johor, is RM20.
Cars without VEP will incur a penalty of RM150.
The original purpose of the VEP was to tackle car theft and cloning syndicates, and prevent vehicles leaving the country without paying outstanding fines.
