THE Transport Ministry (MOT) has no plans to raise the payment rate for the vehicle entry permits (VEP) imposed on Singapore-registered vehicles to this country.

Its minister, Anthony Loke, said the current VEP payment of RM20 will be retained.

He said raising the VEP will cause the Singapore government to impose a higher payment on Malaysian vehicles entering the republic.

“So we need to consider the consequences. We also want to encourage more Singapore tourists to Johor and contribute to the economy, so there are no plans to raise the rate,” he said at a media conference after the launch of the MyBAS50 unlimited pass and bus electric launch at Larkin Sentral, Johor Baru, today.

He was commenting on Kota Iskandar assemblyman Pandak Ahmad’s suggestion to the government to raise the VEP specifically for Singapore-registered vehicles entering the country through Johor on March 21.

Pandak was reported to have said raising the VEP rate should be considered as it was still low compared to the exchange rate with Singapore.

On whether an LRT service would be started in Johor Baru, Loke said that there was a suggestion from a private company to construct it there but added it was still at a suggestion stage. – Bernama, March 28, 2023.