Malaysia to defer VEP enforcement during peak hour traffic

Malaysia's transport ministry has issued a press release stating that it will defer enforcement of its Vehicle Entry Permit (VEP) 'during peak-hour traffic operation' until further notice.

The decision was made after several issues related to the VEP implementation were made known to the ministry, including difficulties in getting an appointment for the VEP-RFID Tag installation.

The ministry added that this affects all outbound traffic at Bangunan Sultan Iskandar and Kompleks Sultan Abu Bakar, at the Woodlands and Tuas Checkpoints respectively, until further notice.

To alleviate the issues, the ministry also announced that it will open an additional RFID fitment centre to ensure a smooth registration process for all owners of foreign vehicles.

The new centre, located at Kompleks Sultan Abu Bakar, will be in addition to the ones at Gelang Patah Southbound RnR, Plaza Angsana open carpark, Pandan RnR and Lima Kedai Toll Plaza. The ministry said that it hopes with the opening of this additional fitment centre, and the deferment of enforcement during peak-hour traffic, all foreign vehicle owners will take this opportunity to immediately register and get the RFID tag installed in their vehicles.

The ministry also informed that it would continue its efforts to inform all outbound traffic flow at Bangunan Sultan Iskandar and Kompleks Sultan Abu Bakar on the need for the registration of the VEP.

The ministry has since clarified that 'peak hours' refer to the hours from 5:00am to 11:00am and 7:00pm to 10:00am, for Mondays to Thursdays, and for Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, 4:00pm to 3:00am and 1:00pm to 4:00pm.

The VEP was first announced in 2017 by then ruling government Barisan Nasional to identify the number of foreign vehicles entering Malaysia and also to prevent car theft and car cloning syndicates.

In April, the Malaysian government announced that it will enforce mandatory registration for foreign vehicles entering from Singapore from 1 October 2019.

Only VEP-registered vehicles will be allowed entry into Malaysia once the permit is implemented, it said.

The plan to implement a VEP at all Malaysian land borders has been delayed several times because the Malaysian authorities said they needed more time to fine-tune the system. It has been in the testing stage since last year.