Johor quiet on day VEP kicked in

Johor Bahru was apparently quiet on Oct. 1, 2024, the day the Vehicle Entry Permit (VEP) scheme for foreign vehicles kicked in.

Foreign-registered vehicles must have the radio frequency identification (RFID) tag installed as part of the requirement to drive into Malaysia.

As quiet as during the pandemic?

The lack of human and vehicular traffic was captured in a photo uploaded onto Facebook on Tuesday, at 9:30am.

The caption on the post read: "The only good thing with the VEP. JB looks like a scene from the pandemic once more."

The lack of congestion along the Causeway was noticeable.

A Malaysia Home Ministry official said the number of cars entering Johor from Singapore dropped 20 per cent on Tuesday morning, but it was inconclusive if it was related to the implementation of the VEP.

Commenters, in response to the revelation, said the drop was likely larger, as travelling in and out of Malaysia via the Causeway took only 25 minutes or less in each direction.

It usually takes an hour or more on weekdays.

Tentativeness of information

The decline in the number of Singaporeans entering Johor Bahru could be attributed to the tentativeness of the situation.

Official information from Malaysia regarding the VEP has mostly been relayed via the media.

News of the opening of the VEP information centre in Woodlands in mid-August was first broken by the media with no official word from the Malaysia authorities initially.

No U-turn in policy but no hard enforcement as well

On Sep. 27, three days before the VEP policy kicked in, it was reported that Singapore drivers were told they could still enter Malaysia without the VEP tag from Oct. 1, but they can expect a warning.

Malaysia’s Road Transport Department announced that enforcement would be "executed in phases", starting with reminders and warnings.

This was after Malaysia's transport minister Anthony Loke said in June three months earlier that there will be no reversal in the policy in its current iteration this time.

No large-scale enforcement

On Oct. 1, an array of news indicated that large scale enforcement action was not being carried out.

Most vehicles that drove past the land crossings into JB that day were not stopped.

A driver even tried driving in and out of Malaysia multiple times in one day and did so with ease.

Only selective enforcement

But then it turns out, enforcement was still carried out, except on a selective basis.

The Johor division of Malaysia’s Road Transport Department (JPJ) shared a post on Facebook at around 11:20am on Tuesday showing it had issued reminders to drivers with no VEP entering Malaysia via the Woodlands Causeway.

Senior officials, including the senior director of its operations department Kifli Hassan, were seen in the post carrying out the enforcement action.

The photos showed reminders displayed on LED screens at immigration booths.

The screen displayed the words, "VEP not registered. Pls register now", while what appeared to be a phone app displayed electronic information about whether a car had registered for the VEP and the number of warnings it had been issued.

Can still make subsequent trips even with warning?

By late Tuesday evening, it was reported that drivers who have received a warning may continue to make subsequent trips into Johor.

This information was relayed by a senior official from Malaysia’s JPJ, who heads its operations in Johor, to CNA.

The reasoning was that Malaysia’s Ministry of Transport has not set any restrictions barring any driver from entering.

The official who gave the information declined to be named though.

When will full enforcement kick in?

At the moment, Malaysia has not confirmed when it will fully enforce VEP requirements.

The VEP was implemented to enable the Malaysia government to track foreign vehicles that enter or leave the country, and get motorists to settle outstanding fines before they are allowed to leave.

Any foreign motor vehicle without a VEP entering or in Malaysia from that date faced a fine of up to RM2,000 (S$618) or jail of up to six months.

Top photos via Jeremy See & JPJ Johor