Malaysia starts VEP enforcement at midnight on Jul 1, issuing US$70 fines to errant Singapore vehicles
Some 50 officers from Malaysia's Road Transport Department (JPJ) started setting up a roadblock about 100m from the immigration checkpoint at the Causeway at about 11.50pm on Monday.
Singapore-registered vehicles without valid Vehicle Entry Permit (VEP) tags or unactivated ones are stopped by Malaysia Road Transport Department officers just past midnight on Jul 1, 2025. (Photo: CNA/ Zamzahuri Abas)
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JOHOR BAHRU: Malaysia started its stepped-up enforcement of the Vehicle Entry Permit (VEP) scheme at the stroke of midnight on Tuesday (Jul 1), with authorities setting up a roadblock about 100m from the immigration checkpoint at the Causeway.
Enforcement officials from the Road Transport Department (JPJ) stopped Singapore motorists without a valid VEP tag or an unactivated one, and issued them a RM300 fine (US$71).
Some 50 officers started setting up the roadblock near the Bangunan Sultan Iskandar customs, immigration and quarantine complex in Johor Bahru at about 11.50pm on Monday.
CNA observed that within 15 minutes of the enforcement, about 15 Singapore-registered vehicles had been pulled over.
After the errant motorists were issued their fines, they made payment at a mobile counter on the spot.
Student Safir Farhan, 19, told CNA he was slightly “nervous” when he was among the first few to be pulled over for having an unactivated VEP.
“It’s trouble because you have to pay. (But) it’s the law, so can’t really do anything about it.”
Malaysia’s Transport Ministry had announced in June that Singapore-registered vehicles entering Malaysia without a valid VEP will face such a compound fine from Jul 1.
The VEP refers to a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag used to track foreign vehicles and note if their drivers have outstanding fines and traffic offences in Malaysia.
The ramped-up enforcement is taking place nine months after Malaysia began requiring all foreign-registered vehicles entering the country by land from Singapore to use VEPs from Oct 1 last year.
Speaking to the media at the enforcement site on Tuesday, JPJ director-general Aedy Fadli Ramli said it mobilsed 55 officers for the operation targeting “areas in Johor where foreign vehicles are most concentrated”.
“For now, enforcement efforts will remain focused within Johor before we expand to other states where Singaporean vehicles are commonly found,” he added.
He said that the enforcement in the coming days will focus specifically on vehicles that have neither registered for nor activated their VEPs.
“So, for those with outstanding summonses (for other traffic offences), we are still providing some leeway.”
He added that motorists stopped by enforcement officers have to pay their fines, register for VEP and activate it before they are allowed to leave Malaysia.
The main office of TCSens, JPJ's appointed vendor for VEP registration and installation, at Danga Bay will now be opened 24 hours to help affected motorists, he said.
It was previously opened every day only from 9am to 5pm.
When CNA arrived at the office at about 1.45am on Tuesday, some 30 Singapore drivers were in the queue.
One of them was Mohd Hafizul Ramli, a 34-year-old Singaporean who resides in Johor Bahru and commutes regularly to Singapore for work.
He said that he had already registered for the VEP but has yet to schedule an appointment to install the RFID tag.
“I think (the enforcement) is fair, considering the grace period has been in place since October,” the firefighter added.
He said there are 54 people ahead of him at the centre, and he hopes he will be able to activate his VEP to be able to return to Singapore.
A TCSens staff member also told CNA that the firm will increase manpower to work the extended hours that came into effect on Monday.
Transport Minister Anthony Loke had said in June that checks will be done through enforcement team operations outside the checkpoints to prevent traffic congestion there.
He added that these checks would be done at “various locations” within Johor Bahru, without elaborating where these would be.
While enforcement would not be done “24 hours”, he stressed that authorities would automatically know which vehicles do not have VEP.
This enforcement thus marked the end of a grace period where motorists who have yet to apply for the VEP were given warning notices.
“Let me assure all Singapore vehicle owners, they can still come in even if they do not have a VEP,” Loke earlier said.
He explained last month that errant drivers will immediately be required to register for a VEP before being allowed to leave Malaysia, so the issue of a repeat offence does not arise.
Errant motorists will be issued a physical compound slip and fines can be paid using cashless methods at the JPJ counters, mobile counters or online via the MyEG website.
“If they do not want to pay the compound, they want to challenge it, then they can go to court but the court can give them a fine of up to RM2,000 and six months jail because it is part of the law,” he said on Jun 2.
The same penalty applies to private company vehicles without a valid VEP, but such vehicles with pre-registered but unactivated VEPs will be issued a reminder notice instead and be allowed to exit Malaysia.
This is because drivers of such vehicles have experienced issues with registering the VEP e-wallet under a company name, Loke had said on Jun 2.
JPJ's Aedy Fadli reiterated these enforcement policies on Tuesday.
In a statement early on Tuesday, JPJ said that as of Jun 29, a total of 248,504 VEP tags have been issued to private individual vehicles, of which 206,088 have been installed and activated. It said 42,416 of the tags have not been activated.
“We see that Singaporeans generally comply with the rules. It’s just a small group, and we want to ensure they too comply with Malaysian regulations,” said Aedy Fadli.
“So I’d like to remind Singaporean citizens who want to enter Malaysia moving forward: Register and activate, and you can enter Malaysia anytime, just like other Singaporeans who follow the rules.”
Loke had earlier said that he was confident that a majority of Singapore motorists will register before Jul 1, calling Singaporean drivers “law-obedient”.
Malaysia announced last May that all foreign-registered vehicles entering the country by land from Singapore would be required to use VEPs from October 2024.
Following the announcement, Singapore drivers scrambled to register their cars under the VEP scheme, creating a bottleneck in applications as many expressed frustration over delays in getting their RFID tags.
