Malaysia to charge RM20 VEP for all foreign-registered vehicles coming in from Singapore

[KUALA LUMPUR] Malaysia will charge RM20(S$7.60) vehicle entry permit (VEP) for all foreign-registered vehicles coming in from Singapore in the middle of 2015, while mulling similar charges for vehicles coming in from Thailand and Brunei.

Singapore now charges S$35 VEP a day for four-wheel vehicles and S$4 daily for motorcycles except on weekends and Singapore public holidays. Traffic between both countries through the Causeway and Second Link is estimated at 400,000 crossings both ways daily.

"The Transport Ministry is working out details of the VEP's implementation at the two entry-points in Johor, which is the Causeway and the Second Link, before it is enforced," Deputy Transport Minister Datuk Abdul Aziz Kaprawi was quoted as saying by the New Straits Times on Sunday.

Mr Aziz said the government agreed to the RM20 VEP charge, which was planned to take place in January, after Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak announced the VEP last July.

"However, the VEP's implementation has been postponed to the middle of next year as there are detailed preparations to be done, including the installation of special devices at the two entry-points in the state," he said in Batu Pahat, Johor.

Mr Aziz said VEP rates in areas bordering Thailand and Brunei would be announced once Johor's phase is completed and running smoothly.