Four questions for the Johor Govt about the VEP
By Jimmy Puah
I refer to yesterday’s announcement by the Johor Public Works, Rural and Regional Development Committee Chairman Hasni Mohammad that there will be no more obstacles in implementing the Vehicle Entry Permit (VEP) system on July 16 after the end of the trial period.
I certainly hope there will be no more delays after the launch date of the VEP was postponed three times since August 1 last year.
Johor PKR has always taken the stand that we welcome the introduction of this VEP system and believe it will not affect the existing cordial relationship between Malaysia and Singapore. And with the current exchange rate of SGD1 = RM3, we do not foresee any decrease of visitors coming from Singapore after the implementation of the VEP.
It should be noted here that according to the facts provided by the government to me, for the year 2014, an average of 46,806 vehicles (excluding motorbikes) and 20,719 (excluding motorbikes) came into Malaysia vide the Causeway and Second Link respectively. This means nearly 25 million vehicles enter Malaysia vide Johor every year and a substantial number of them are Singapore-registered vehicles. I suspect the number of vehicles has increased since then. In fact, the Singapore Straits Times estimates a daily collection of RM2,000,000 by the Malaysian Government with VEP system.
As agreed with the Federal Government, the Johor state government is to receive 25% of this collection. Again we welcome this new source of revenue but due to the constant delays, we feel it necessary to pose the following questions to the Johor Government:
(a) Is the 25% collection entitlement by the Johor Government still valid or have there been any changes to this?
(b) What is the expected collection for the Federal & Johor Governments from the VEP system for 2016 due to the delays? This question is pertinent because in the Johor State Budget for 2016, the Johor Government listed RM45 million as revenue or income derived from VEP collections.
(c) What is the basis for the figure of RM45 million? Is it based upon the implementation of the VEP from January 1, 2016 or any other timeframe? And if it is, how would it affect the state budget that only has a surplus of RM1.556 million?
(d) Is there any specific usage for this collection by the Johor Government – for example for road maintenance or will the government set up a specific trust account for this?
We hope the government will answer these four questions for public interest and we certainly hope the government will be transparent in the handling of all monies received from the VEP collection. In fact we would advocate that the Johor Government seek an increment from the present 25% (if still valid) to 30% from next year onwards.
Being a responsible opposition party, Johor PKR will continue to observe and monitor this issue keenly to ensure transparency and good governance are applied at all times so the collection will be used only for the greater benefit of the people.
Jimmy Puah is Deputy Chairman of Johor PKR and State Assemblyman for Bukit Batu.
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