As the 1 Oct deadline nears for foreign drivers entering Malaysia to get a Vehicle Entry Permit (VEP), an information counter has opened in Woodlands.
This led anxious motorists to flock to the premises for enquires and queue numbers to stop being issued as early as 3pm.
Source: Lianhe Zaobao
The VEP info counter is located at unit #03-01R of 186 Woodlands Industrial Park E5, according to local automotive platform Motorist.sg.
Source: Google Maps
The third-floor unit has the name “MY VEP Pte Ltd”. It is open only from Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm.
The opening of the info counter was announced by Malaysian Transport Minister Anthony Loke on 1 Aug, reported Channel NewsAsia (CNA).
However, no formal announcement was made about its exact location.
Thus, when CNA first reported on its location on Monday (19 Aug) morning, the office was empty at 8.45am.
People started coming during lunchtime, though, causing there to be at least 50 people inside and queuing up outside the unit after 2pm.
Source: Motorist.sg
Motorist.sg said there was a crowd outside the office trying to get in at 3.30pm and more arriving.
Source: Motorist.sg
At some point after 2pm, the crowd was told that the office had stopped giving out queue numbers.
Those without a queue number were advised to leave behind their contact details and vehicle plate numbers.
A sign was also put up saying that only 100 tickets were given out for enquiries per day.
A manager at the office told CNA that the counter is for enquires only.
It was opened so that Singaporeans who have problems applying for the VEP do no have to travel to Johor Bahru for face-to-face assistance.
However, drivers will not be able to collect or install their radio frequency identification (RFID) tag there.
A 70-year-old driver told Lianhe Zaobao that he had applied for a VEP online in June but had received no update.
This was his second time applying for a VEP and the process was much slower than the first, he said.
When he tried to update some information, the update failed as there were too many people trying to do the same thing, he added.
He attributed this to the sudden VEP announcement in May, resulting in too many people applying in a short time.
A male supervisor at the office told Zaobao that more than 20,000 people had applied for a VEP online, so the company needed more time to process the applications.
Initially set to be enforced in 2019, the VEP implementation for foreign-registered vehicles was delayed multiple times due to installation issues.
The 1 Oct deadline was then announced on 28 May, sparking a scramble among Singaporean drivers to register.
To register for a VEP-RFID tag, vehicle owners can visit the Malaysian Road Transport Department (JPJ) website to sign up for an account.
Priced at RM10 (S$2.90) each, the tags have a validity period of five years.
Those found driving a foreign vehicle without a VEP may receive a fine of up to RM2,000 (S$575.67) or a jail term of up to six months.
Also read: ‘There will be no U-turn’: M’sia committed to implementing VEP for foreign vehicles from 1 Oct
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Featured image adapted from Lianhe Zaobao and Google Maps.
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