Malaysia’s toll hike ‘not likely to be less than S$20’

KUALA LUMPUR — The fee to be imposed on all foreign vehicles entering Johor from Singapore is not likely to be less than RM50 (S$19.50), the Malaysian Deputy Transport Minister Abdul Aziz Kaprawi has said, the Sin Chew Daily newspaper reported.

The Malaysian government’s announcement it was implementing a Vehicle Entry Permit (VEP) fee for foreign-registered vehicles entering Johor came weeks after Singapore earlier this month raised the VEP fee for all foreign-registered cars entering the country. The move had raised an outcry among Malaysians who regularly commute to Singapore for work.

Mr Abdul Aziz said the move could be implemented by the end of the year, Sin Chew reported. He noted that the ministry had decided that the fee should be no less than RM50 as it was a reasonable amount for Singaporeans, given the country’s stronger currency against the Malaysian ringgit. Previous reports had said the ballpark figure for the VEP fee was between RM20 and RM50.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said last week the country would be implementing a VEP fee for all foreign vehicles entering Johor, The Star newspaper reported.

Mr Najib had said the decision was made following a request from Johor. He said the Road Transport Department would work out the details before the VEP was implemented.

In a move aimed at relieving traffic on Singapore’s borders, the Land Transport Authority said on July 1 it was raising the VEP fee for foreign-registered cars entering Singapore from S$20 to S$35 a day effective from Aug 1.

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