According to the Malaysian authorities, a new RM25 (S$8) 5-year-permit Vehicle Entry Permit (VEP) will be charged on all foreign-registered vehicles entering Malaysia. The new toll charge is on top of the RM20 (S$6.40) road charge applied daily for Singapore-registered vehicles.
The Malaysian Transport Minister said that the new VEP helps the local authorities to identify stolen cars and deter car thefts and car cloning syndicates. A new road charge will likely be implemented by the Singapore government to “price-match” the increase.
Singapore’s Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan has earlier vowed to increase road charges whenever there is an increase from Malaysia. An ex-Malaysian, Minister Khaw Boon Wan implemented a “reciprocal road charge” of S$6.40 in January 2017. Due to the two governments raising toll charges, a round trip from Singapore to Malaysia now cost S$19.60 for a Singapore-registered cars and S$41.40 for Malaysian cars.
The cross border bridges have always been a major diplomatic spat between Singapore and Malaysia, from toll charges to overcrowding. As there has been no plan to increase manpower and resources at the custom clearance, the traffic jam can delay for as long as 4 hours just to cross the 1km bridge.