Johor bahru: Effective Nov 15, foreign vehicle owners or drivers, particularly those from Singapore, who have not obtained or activated a Vehicle Entry Permit (VEP) will be prohibited from leaving Malaysia until all outstanding fines are cleared, said Road Transport Department (JPJ) director-general Datuk Aedy Fadly Ramli. The enforcement applies to both privately owned vehicles and company-owned private vehicles that either lack a VEP, have an expired VEP, or remain in pre-registration status.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, fines will be imposed, and vehicle owners must settle them and complete VEP registration before departing Malaysia. This measure aims to prevent any complications at the Malaysia-Singapore border, as stated by the director-general at a press conference following the VEP Special Enforcement Operation at the Sultan Iskandar Building (BSI) exit. He noted that fines can be paid at JPJ office counters, mobile JPJ counters, the VEP registration counter at Danga Bay, or online through myEG.

Previously, enforcement involved issuing foreign vehicle drivers or owners with summons and warning notices, but the approach has now shifted to full-scale enforcement. The operations, initially confined to Johor, are being expanded nationwide. Any Singapore-registered vehicle found without a VEP anywhere in Malaysia will face enforcement action.

Since VEP enforcement commenced on July 1, a total of 303,183 Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags have been installed on privately owned vehicles, with an additional 31,643 tags fitted to company-owned vehicles. During the same period, authorities inspected 55,486 vehicles and issued 4,028 fines to owners without a VEP, totaling RM1.2 million.