10 S'porean drivers fined within 1st hour of M'sia's VEP enforcement on Jul. 1

Within an hour after midnight on Jul. 1, 2025, 10 Singaporean drivers entering Johor Bahru via the Causeway were handed an RM300 (S$91) fine for not possessing a Vehicle Entry Permit (VEP).

This came after Malaysia's transport minister Anthony Loke's Jun. 4 announcement that foreign vehicles caught entering Malaysia without a valid VEP must settle their fines and activate their VEP before exiting the country.

The move is a long-delayed instalment that was meant to be implemented on Oct. 1, 2024, but which saw a 9-month grace period to allow for registration of the VEP.

Singaporean cars must now install a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag before entering Malaysia as proof of the VEP.

Settle fine on the spot

55 officers from Malaysia's Road Transport Department (JPJ) conducted checks at midnight on Jul. 1 at the Bangunan Sultan Iskandar customs, immigration and quarantine (CIQ) complex in Johor Bahru, and pulled aside cars that did not comply with the rules, The Straits Times reported.

The first to be caught was 19-year-old student Safir Farhan, who told ST he "foresaw it coming, but [he] wasn't really expecting it to be this big".

He also said that he had already registered for the VEP and had an acknowledgement e-mail from JPJ, but the RFID tag had yet to be delivered to him.

He had to settle the fine on the spot, which caused a 15-minute delay to his supper trip to Johor Bahru with his aunt and sister.

According to ST, JPJ director-general Aedy Fadly Ramli told the media on Jul. 1 that as at Jun. 29, 248,504 Singaporean privately-owned vehicles and 19,690 company vehicles had applied for the VEP.

However, not all have been issued RFID tags.

Private vehicles without VEP to be fined

Loke said on Jun. 4 that company vehicles that have applied for a VEP but have yet to receive relevant approvals will not be fined from Jul. 1.

They will instead receive a reminder notice and be allowed to leave Malaysia.

This does not apply to private vehicles, however, who will be fined regardless of excuses, Aedy said.

Aedy added that all enforcement operations at the customs will be conducted away from border entry points at the Causeway and Second Link to prevent congestion.

Fines can be paid at JPJ counters, JPJ mobile counters or online via the MyEG system, and only accepts cashless modes of payment.

Mothership readers with a story to share on their VEP experiences can do so via email at [email protected]

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Top image via Hardwarezone