This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on September 24, 2019

KUALA LUMPUR: The ministry of transport (MoT) said it will defer the enforcement of vehicle entry permits (VEPs) on all outbound traffic at both Bangunan Sultan Iskandar (BSI) and Kompleks Sultan Abu Bakar (KSAB) in Johor during peak-hour traffic operations until further notice.

The decision was made in view of several issues made known to the ministry, including the difficulties to get appointments for RFID tag installation, it said in a statement yesterday.

Hence, it hopes that foreign vehicle owners will take the opportunity of this deferment, and the opening up of a new fitment centre (FC), to immediately register and get their RFID tag installed to avoid any difficulties to commute in and out of Malaysia in the future.

The new FC is located at the Road Transport Department (RTD) office at KSAB (outbound traffic), and its date of operation will be announced shortly. It joins a list of four others at: Gelang Patah Southbound RnR; Plaza Angsana Open Carpark; Pandan RnR; and Lima Kedai Toll Plaza.

According to the MoT, registration for VEPs has been open since April 2019, and owners of foreign vehicles have been given a period of six months up to October this year to complete the process.

With the deferment, the RTD will in the meantime focus on advocacy and awareness activities at all outbound traffic flow at BSI and KSAB to educate foreign vehicle owners on the need for VEP registration.