Government expresses concern over entry fee for foreign vehicles

As reported earlier, the Malaysian government has announced all foreign vehicles entering Peninsular Malaysia via the state of Johor would have to pay an entry fee, and The Ministry of Transport in Singapore has expressed concern over the news, claiming the implementation is aiming at motorists from the city-state.

Besides Singapore, Peninsular Malaysia shares a land border with Thailand in the north, while the state of Sarawak in the east shares its border with Brunei. Also, both Sarawak and Sabah also share borders with Indonesia's Kalimantan province.

However Malaysia's announcement only seem to take effect at the checkpoints bordering Singapore - in what is seen as a clear tit-for-that response by the Malaysian Government to LTA's announcement to raise the Vehicle Entry Permit and Goods Vehicle Permit for all foreign vehicles entering the city-state.

A Transport Ministry spokesman cited in a statement yesterday that Singapore's move to raise fees was not discriminatory, but rather "serves to equalise the cost of owning and using foreign registered vehicles on Singapore roads, with that for Singapore registered vehicles". He added Singapore registered vehicles incur "significantly different costs" such as the Certificate of Entitlement (COE) and vehicle taxes.

The spokesperson also revealed - with reference to last year's data - almost 90 percent of foreign registered cars entering Singapore, would not be affected by the fee hike as they enter the island between 5:00pm and 2:00am or on weekends and public holidays - when the fee is waived.

The Transport Ministry revealed it has contacted its counterparts over the causeway for details of the proposed entry fee. Although unconfirmed, a number of sources in Malaysia believe the fee could be between RM20 ($7.80) to RM50 ($19.50).

The news has not gone down well with motorists from Singapore, especially from commuters who travel up north frequently.