Nearly 1,500 Singapore drivers fined under Malaysia’s VEP scheme since Jul 1; penalties top US$100,000
The errant drivers make up around 10 per cent of the total number of Singapore cars checked by Malaysian authorities.
A Malaysia Road Transport Department officer issues a summons to a driver during a Vehicle Entry Permit (VEP) enforcement exercise on Aug 3, 2025. (Photo: CNA/Zamzahuri Abas)
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JOHOR BAHRU: Nearly 1,500 Singapore drivers have been fined a total of RM445,800 (US$104,219) since the Vehicle Entry Permit scheme was fully enforced slightly more than a month ago, according to Malaysia’s Road Transport Department (JPJ).
JPJ’s senior director for enforcement Muhammad Kifli Ma Hassan said the 1,489 drivers issued fines made up around 10 per cent of the 14,379 drivers who were checked between Jul 1 and Aug 2.
“JPJ found that almost 90 per cent of Singapore cars had VEP installed and their radio frequency identification (RFID) tags activated,” he told reporters on Sunday night (Aug 3) during an enforcement operation at a roadblock about 100m from the immigration checkpoint at the Causeway.
Malaysian authorities have and will continue to stand firm and issue fines to all Singapore drivers who do not have a valid VEP, Muhammad Kifli said.
“We will issue fines on the spot. We instruct all drivers to settle all their fines immediately,” he added.
The enforcement is in line with Section 66H(7) of the Road Transport Act 1987, which makes it an offence to drive a foreign-registered motor vehicle into or within Malaysia without a valid permit.
Malaysia’s Transport Minister Anthony Loke announced in June that Singapore-registered vehicles entering Malaysia without a valid VEP will face a RM300 compound fine from Jul 1.
He had said that errant motorists will have to pay the fines and register for the VEP before they are allowed to leave Malaysia.
CNA is checking with JPJ on the fines paid by the 1,489 drivers as the total fine of RM445,800 cited by the department equates to 1,486 motorists being fined RM300 each.
The VEP refers to an RFID tag used to track foreign vehicles and note if their drivers have outstanding fines and traffic offences in Malaysia.
Malaysia began requiring all foreign-registered vehicles entering the country by land from Singapore to use VEPs from Oct 1 last year, but only reminders and warnings were issued in the first nine months as many drivers faced difficulties with VEP registration.
During the operation on Sunday, JPJ officials stopped Singapore motorists without a valid VEP tag or an unactivated one, and issued them a RM300 fine.
CNA observed that within one hour of the enforcement, about 10 Singapore-registered vehicles had been pulled over.
Lim Soon Wei, a Singapore driver who was stopped, told reporters he was surprised he was fined, given his vehicle already had the VEP tag installed on his front dashboard.
“I went to the VEP centre in (Johor Bahru’s) Danga Bay to get the tag installed last September, but I was told today that the tag cannot be detected. I don’t know why,” said Lim, a 57-year-old business owner in the funeral industry who is also a part-time private-hire driver.
A JPJ officer told CNA that some drivers who had tags installed have not activated them – the last crucial step in the process.
Another driver who declined to be named told CNA that he was entering Johor Bahru on Sunday because he had an appointment to install his VEP tag the following morning.
“I accept the fine because I have no VEP. It is what it is,” said the Singaporean who drove a black Mercedes-Benz.
JPJ’s Muhammad Kifli said that the errant drivers issued fines were stopped at the two land checkpoints, Woodlands Causeway and Tuas Second Link, as well as during checks around Johor Bahru town, including areas frequented by Singaporeans.
When asked by CNA if Malaysian authorities were considering the next step of enforcement – including making sure that Singapore drivers pay their outstanding fines - Muhammad Kifli said the transport minister would decide.
"Based on tonight’s operation, I will return and submit proposals and improvements to the Minister of Transport, and it is expected that the minister will issue further instructions,” he said.
To date, a total of 277,930 VEP tags have been issued as of Jul 31, up from 248,504 VEP tags from Jun 29, he added.
