M'sia govt ready to discuss cross-border ride-hailing plans with S'pore: M'sia transport minister Anthony Loke

The issue had previously been raised between the two governments.

Gawain Pek

August 19, 2025, 12:59 PM

Malaysia's Transport Minister Anthony Loke told the country's parliament that the Malaysian government is ready to discuss the implementation of cross-border e-hailing services between Johor and Singapore, but this requires agreement on both sides of the causeway.

Loke's comments were made during Malaysia's parliamentary session on Aug. 18, Bernama reported.

Hopes to resume discussions

During his comments, Loke explained Malaysia's recent operation which led to the detainment and seizure of four private vehicles suspected of being used for e-hailing services.

"At the Singapore level, they are also enforcing the law on private vehicles from Malaysia, especially those from Johor Bahru entering Singapore," Loke said, as quoted by Bernama.

"So, we are also taking the same approach in enforcing our laws as a reciprocal approach to what is being implemented in Singapore," the Transport Minister added.

Loke expressed the hope to find a "better long-term solution" so that "cross-border connectivity can be improved."

However, the minister pointed out that this cannot be done unilaterally.

"Both parties must agree before it can be implemented," Loke told the Malaysian parliament, New Straits Times wrote.

He shared that he had raised the matter with Singapore's then-Minister of Transport Chee Hong Tat, but the Republic was not ready to discuss the matter at the time, according to The Star.

Background

LTA previously informed Mothership that officials from both countries met on Aug. 1 to discuss cross-border service arrangements.

Singapore's Acting Minister for Transport and Senior Minister of State for Finance Jeffery Siow was present at the meeting alongside the Menteri Besar (Chief Minister) of Johor, Onn Hafiz Ghazi.

A statement by Singapore's Land Transport Authority (LTA) on Aug. 3 said that the issue of cross-border ride-hailing was raised during the meeting but no decision was made.

LTA clarified that they remain open to ideas on improving cross-border travelling experiences, but has "no plan to fully liberalise cross-border point-to-point transport via ride-hail services."

Currently, there is a reciprocal Cross Border Taxi Scheme in place that allows up to 200 taxis from each country to ferry passengers between Singapore and Johor.

This has yet to be fully utilised.

The authorities in Singapore had recently increased enforcement action against illegal cross-border ride-hailing services between Singapore and Malaysia.