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Malaysia may introduce Vehicle Entry Permit for foreign cars soon

THE Malaysian government is pushing ahead with plans to introduce a Vehicle Entry Permit (VEP) for foreign cars. It would be enforced first on cars entering from Singapore and later from Thailand, Brunei and Kalimantan.

Speaking to reporters at the opening of the new MYR48 million (US$16 million) Johor Port Authority building in Johor Baru, Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai, said: "Please do not listen to rumours and speculate on the date of implementation.

"I apologise to the Johor government as they want it to be implemented as soon as possible, but we need some time to make sure there are no hiccups."

Asked if there was a deadline set for the introduction of the VEP, the minister said: "Please give us some time to make sure everything is in order... Maybe in a month or two," adding testing of the system was ongoing, reported the Straits Times.

So far, 120,000 Singapore-registered cars have signed up online for the VEP.

The Transport Minister also urged port operators to upgrade their facilities so that they would not be left behind amid fierce global competition.

He cited the third phase of the port of Tanjung Pelepas (PTP) as an example. Development would begin as soon as possible as the port was already handling nine million TEU annually.

"It is already ranked 19th in the world. The third phase will help PTP hit 30 million TEU in the future," the minister said.