JOHOR BAHRU, Aug 22 — More than 400 Johor-based travel agencies claimed that business has been affected after Singapore authorities denied their Vehicle Entry Permit (VEP) applications for the past two years, affectively barring the licensed tour vehicles from entering the republic.
The group, represented by Khairul Anuar Mokhtar, claimed that due to the restriction that started in 2023, their premium passenger vehicles and also Tourism Malaysia’s Hire & Drive licensed vehicles have lost up to 50 per cent of income as they are unable to enter Singapore.
“The travel agencies vehicles, consisting of several premium multi-purpose vehicles (MPV) such as Toyota Alphard, Toyota Vellfire, Hyundai Staria and Hyundai Starex, have had their VEP applications rejected,” he told reporters here.
“In addition, Tourism Malaysia’s Hire & Drive vehicles that meet safety standards equivalent to Singapore’s, including having to undergo inspections every six months, requiring passenger insurance and validated drivers with Public Service Vehicle (PSV) licences and official permits under the Transport Ministry and the Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry are also affected.
“As a result of the restriction, this void is now filled by private vehicles operating illegally that enter Singapore and cater to tourists from both countries,” he added.
He was accompanied by 30 representatives of Johor-based travel agencies that claim that their business has been affected by the move by Singapore authorities.
Khairul Anuar said that the current situation, where private vehicles operate illegally, gives a bad name to legitimate travel agencies and affects the image of tourism in Johor.
He added that their pool of drivers even have an Asean PSV, but is restricted as it only allows them to operate sightseeing buses where passengers have to follow the bus route that has a long queue and separate immigration checks.
“Our services are usually used by elderly passengers and those who are disabled, in addition to corporate clients who want to enter Singapore without much immigration hassle.
“The problem is that the four premium vehicles are usually the top choice of tourists from Singapore to Johor, but are not allowed to operate due to the lack of a VEP,” he said.
This comeas as they said a total of 119 premium vehicles have been seized by Singapore’s Land Transport Authority (LTA) for allegedly operating illegally.
Ahmad Khaizurin said the affected parties have proposed a possible solution that includes a proper cross-border cooperation by allowing Singapore’s Private Hire Vehicle and Malaysia’s Hire & Drive vehicles to be given a special point-to-point permit for the Singapore-Malaysia cross-border travels.
In Malaysia and Singapore, private vehicles offering cross-border passenger transport services, even under e-hailing platforms, are illegal — leading recent crackdowns on both sides.
Earlier this week. Transport Minister Anthony Loke said his ministry is in principle ready to discuss with Singapore the implementation of cross-border e-hailing between Johor and the republic.
He said the matter had been raised with Singapore’s former Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat, but the republic was not ready to discuss the proposal at that time.
