JOHOR BARU – The Transport Ministry has called on its Singaporean counterpart to reconsider its decision to match Malaysia’s road charge (RC) of RM20 for foreign-registered vehicles entering the country from the republic.
Transport Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said the RC was not discriminatory against Singapore-registered vehicles, pointing out that the island republic had been charging Malaysian cars for the past 44 years.
“Singapore has been charging us since its Vehicle Entry Permit (VEP) introduction in 1973, starting with S$10 and gradually increasing it to S$35 (RM109) presently.
“Only now we have introduced the RC of only RM20, in line with our efforts to implement the Vehicle Entry Permit,” he told reporters after attending the Johor Baru Tiong Hua Association swearing-in ceremony here on Friday.
He also clarified that there would not be any additional charges on foreign vehicles apart from the RC when the VEP was fully implemented by mid-year.
The collection of RC at the two land entry points in Johor – the Causeway and Second Link Crossing – took effect in November last year.
On Jan 9, Singapore’s Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan said in Parliament that the republic would match Malaysia’s RM20 RC.
Malaysia, he said, had collected about RM13.9mil in road charges from Singapore vehicles between Nov 1 and Dec 20 last year.
