Malaysia hopes to revive regional freight rail service
Malaysia is calling for a common protocol for the movement of goods in transit to speed up the ASEAN rail connectivity. That's after the ASEAN Express, a freight rail route linking Malaysia, Thailand, Laos and China, was temporarily halted after its launch last June. CNA's Melissa Goh caught up with Malaysia's transport minister, Anthony Loke recently, on Malaysia's action plan to revive the service.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
AsiaOne
2 days ago
- AsiaOne
Queues at VEP application centres in Singapore, JB after news of enforcement from July 1 , Singapore News
SINGAPORE/JOHOR BAHRU — Waves of Singapore motorists showed up at Vehicle Entry Permit (VEP) application and installation centres in Singapore and Johor Bahru a day after Malaysia announced that enforcement of the VEP will start on July 1. Singapore-registered vehicles entering the country from that date without a valid VEP will be fined RM300 (S$91), Malaysia's Transport Minister Anthony Loke said on June 4. The drivers will have to pay the fine and complete their VEP registration before leaving Malaysia. On June 5, motorists showed up at VEP centres in Woodlands in Singapore and Danga Bay in Johor Bahru because they needed help with signing up on the online portal or had problems activating their radio frequency identification (RFID) tags. VEP-registered vehicles need to have RFID tags installed and activated in order to make payments for Malaysian expressway tolls and the road charge when entering Johor via the two land checkpoints. The counters in Malaysia are operated by TCSens, Malaysia's ministry-appointed vendor for handling VEP registrations; while the one in Singapore is run by My VEP, a separate company, in collaboration with TCSens. Between 9.30am and 10.30am, around 40 people were seen queueing outside the My VEP office in Woodlands Industrial Park. They include motorists collecting their VEP RFID tags and those needing help with applications. Those without appointment slots were turned away. Around lunchtime at the TCSens inquiry centre in Danga Bay, more than 60 motorists were seen queueing to seek assistance from staff to troubleshoot their VEP registrations. The centre allows walk-in inquiries. Latiff Saleh, 64, who did not have an appointment, left the Woodlands centre in Singapore without getting any assistance. He needed help to terminate the existing VEP registration of his car, which was tagged to its previous owner, as he was not able to do so online. On hearing the June 4 announcement, he tried to log in to the VEP portal to restart the application process but faced difficulties. He had not decided whether to try his luck at Danga Bay soon or wait for the rush in Woodlands to subside before getting an appointment. Inquiries had been decreasing before the June 4 announcement, and appointment slots had been available daily since March, said Ng Poh Heng, manager of My VEP. But by the morning of June 5, all the slots until June 20 had been taken up, checks by The Straits Times found. Esther Chua, 50, received her VEP RFID tag earlier in 2025 but found that it could not be fitted to her car as required. The finance executive did not get around to exchanging the tag until after hearing the latest news. "The Malaysian side seems to keep changing their mind, so I didn't feel the need to get it fixed (so soon)," she said at Woodlands on June 5. The latest move to enforce the VEP comes eight years after the plan was first mooted in 2017. Its implementation was shelved twice, in 2019 and again in 2020. It was rolled out in October 2024, but foreign vehicles found without valid VEPs were given reminders to get registered and not the Danga Bay inquiry centre on June 5, waiting times were long, with motorists saying they began queueing from as early as 6am for the counter to open at 9am. One of the motorists, a 76-year-old Singaporean retiree who wanted to be known only as Chong, said that his VEP application was rejected in October 2024 because it was missing insurance documents. He said he never heard back after he replied with the documents. "Suddenly, they said they are going to enforce (the requirement) this July. This is very troublesome," he said, adding that the announcement on June 4 caught him by surprise. Singaporean interior designer Andrew Ho, 44, who arrived in Danga Bay at 9am, waited five hours to get help from TCSens staff. His VEP RFID tag could not be read at the Malaysian Customs gantry. A TCSens staff member at Danga Bay told ST that by 2.30pm, he had already assisted more than 100 motorists, compared with the daily number of 130 cars that the centre had handled in the past few months. Loke told reporters on June 4 that foreign-registered private vehicles have had ample time to be VEP-registered since the call to do so was made in May 2024. The minister added that 231,018 Singapore-registered private individually owned vehicles have signed up for the VEP, with 15 per cent yet to activate the RFID tags. Meanwhile, skip-the-queue VEP services in Singapore are seeing an uptick in inquiries. These services apply for the VEP on the motorists' behalf, saving drivers the hassle of making the online application or queueing at the counters. Derrick Heng, director of Radiant VEP, which offers skip-the-queue services, said inquiries have spiked since the latest announcement, after getting around 10 queries daily from the beginning of 2025. "We received about 30 inquiries on June 4, and our office (in Kaki Bukit) was full, with motorists coming in to apply for the permits at the last minute," he said. Jason Koay, director of accounting and secretarial firm Bizwise Management, which advertises its VEP application assistance service on Carousell, said he helped with 50 applications on June 5, up from two to three inquiries a day since March. A TCSens spokesman urged Singaporean motorists to register promptly for the VEP through the website, as it is anticipating a surge in applications and appointments at its four centres in Johor Bahru and Singapore. "Motorists must ensure that the VEP RFID tags are securely fixed on their vehicles and activated for use once they have received them," he added. [[nid:718706]] This article was first published in The Straits Times . Permission required for reproduction.
Straits Times
2 days ago
- Straits Times
Queues at VEP application centres in Singapore, JB after news of enforcement from July 1
Singapore-registered vehicles entering the country from July 1 without a valid VEP will be fined RM300. ST PHOTO: CHONG JUN LIANG Queues at VEP application centres in Singapore, JB after news of enforcement from July 1 SINGAPORE/JOHOR BAHRU – Waves of Singapore motorists showed up at Vehicle Entry Permit (VEP) application and installation centres in Singapore and Johor Bahru a day after Malaysia announced that enforcement of the VEP will start on July 1. Singapore-registered vehicles entering the country from that date without a valid VEP will be fined RM300 (S$91), Malaysia's Transport Minister Anthony Loke said on June 4. The drivers will have to pay the fine and complete their VEP registration before leaving Malaysia. On June 5, motorists showed up at VEP centres in Woodlands in Singapore and Danga Bay in Johor Bahru because they needed help with signing up on the online portal or had problems activating their radio frequency identification (RFID) tags. VEP-registered vehicles need to have RFID tags installed and activated in order to make payments for Malaysian expressway tolls and the road charge when entering Johor via the two land checkpoints. The counters in Malaysia are operated by TCSens, Malaysia's ministry-appointed vendor for handling VEP registrations; while the one in Singapore is run by My VEP, a separate company, in collaboration with TCSens. Between 9.30am and 10.30am, around 40 persons were seen queuing outside the My VEP office in Woodlands Industrial Park. They include motorists collecting their VEP RFID tags and those needing help with applications. Those without appointment slots were turned away. Around lunchtime at the TCSens inquiry centre in Danga Bay, more than 60 motorists were seen queuing to seek assistance from staff to troubleshoot their VEP registrations. The centre allows walk-in inquiries. Mr Latiff Saleh, 64, who did not have an appointment, left the Woodlands centre in Singapore without getting any assistance. He needed help to terminate the existing VEP registration of his car, which was tagged to its previous owner, as he was not able to do so online. On hearing the June 4 announcement, he tried to log in to the VEP portal to restart the application process, but faced difficulties. He had not decided whether to try his luck at Danga Bay soon, or wait for the rush in Woodlands to subside before getting an appointment. Inquiries had been decreasing prior to the June 4 announcement, and appointment slots had been available daily since March, said Mr Ng Poh Heng, manager of My VEP. But by the morning of June 5, all the slots until June 20 have been taken up, checks by The Straits Times found. Ms Esther Chua, 50, received her VEP RFID tag earlier in 2025, but found that it could not be fitted to her car as required. The finance executive did not get around to exchanging the tag until after hearing the latest news. 'The Malaysian side seems to keep changing their mind, so I didn't feel the need to get it fixed (so soon),' she said at Woodlands on June 5. The latest move to enforce the VEP comes eight years after the plan was first mooted in 2017. Implementation of the system was shelved twice, in 2019 and again in 2020. It was rolled out in October 2024, but foreign vehicles found without valid VEPs were given reminders to get registered and not fined. At the Danga Bay inquiry centre on June 5, waiting times were long, with motorists saying they began queuing from as early as 6am for the counter to open at 9am. One of the motorists, a 76-year-old Singaporean retiree who wanted to be known only as Mr Chong, said that his VEP application was rejected in October 2024 because it was missing insurance documents. He said he never heard back after he replied with the documents. 'Suddenly, they said they are going to enforce this July. This is very troublesome,' he said, adding that the announcement on June 4 caught him by surprise. Singaporean interior designer Andrew Ho, 44, who arrived in Danga Bay at 9am, waited five hours to get help from TCSens staff. His VEP RFID tag could not be read at the Malaysian customs gantry. A TCSens staff at Danga Bay told ST that by 2.30pm, he had already assisted more than 100 motorists, compared with the daily number of 130 cars that the centre had handled in the past few months. Singaporean interior designer Andrew Ho (right) waited for five hours at the Danga Bay TCSens VEP centre before he was helped by staff (in black). ST PHOTO: HARITH MUSTAFFA Mr Loke told reporters on June 4 that foreign-registered private vehicles have had ample time to be VEP-registered since the call to do so was made in May 2024. The minister added that 231,018 Singapore-registered private individually owned vehicles have signed up for the VEP, with 15 per cent yet to activate the RFID tags. Meanwhile, skip-the-queue VEP services in Singapore are seeing an uptick in inquiries. These services apply for the VEP on the motorists' behalf, saving drivers the hassle of making the online application or queuing at the counters. Mr Derrick Heng, d irector of Radiant VEP, which offers skip-the-queue services, said inquiries have spiked since the latest announcement after getting around 10 queries daily from the beginning of 2025. 'We received about 30 inquiries on June 4, and our office (in Kaki Bukit) was full, with motorists coming in to apply for the permits at the last minute,' he said. Mr Jason Koay, director of accounting and secretarial firm Bizwise Management, which advertises its VEP application assistance service on Carousell, said he helped with 50 applications on June 5, up from a norm of two to three inquiries a day since March. A TCSens spokesman urged Singaporean motorists to register promptly for the VEP via the website, as it is anticipating a surge in applications and appointments at its four centres in Johor Bahru and Singapore. 'Motorists must ensure that the VEP RFID tags are securely fixed on their vehicles and activated for use once they have received them,' he added. Lee Nian Tjoe is senior transport correspondent at The Straits Times, where he also oversees the Motoring section. Harith Mustaffa is a journalist covering Malaysia for The Straits Times, with a focus on Johor. Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.
CNA
2 days ago
- CNA
MOM investigating allegations of companies misusing passes for hiring foreign students, trainees
SINGAPORE: The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) is investigating allegations that companies are misusing a pass that permits employers to hire foreign students and intra-corporate trainees for up to three months. In response to queries from CNA, MOM said that it takes these claims of misuse of the Training Employment Pass (TEP) "seriously" and is already investigating the matter. It has also completed its investigations in some cases. CNA has asked the ministry what the outcomes of the completed investigations were. According to MOM, the TEP allows foreigners to undergo practical training for professional, managerial, executive or specialist jobs in Singapore. Companies can apply for this pass if they wish to hire a foreign student or a trainee from a foreign office or subsidiary. The ministry said that it does "additional checks and audits" on "selected" TEP applications, by asking for proof of training programmes and foreign offices or subsidiaries. To hire a foreign student, their training attachment in Singapore must be part of their course of study, and they must be studying at an "acceptable institution" or earn a "fixed monthly salary" of at least S$3,000 (US$2,330), said the ministry. To hire a trainee from a foreign office or subsidiary, they must earn a fixed monthly salary of at least S$3,000. In an article titled "Management executives washing dishes" non-profit Transient Workers Count Too (TWC2) posted on its website last month, it said that it had seen 13 workers on such passes between Dec 1 last year and Apr 26 this year. "We have never before seen so many workers on this kind of work pass in such a short time. Nearly all of them complained about salary irregularities, but at least one of them pointed to long working hours as his biggest problem," the article said. "However, when we found out more about the circumstances which led to their working in Singapore, we could see the contours of a rapidly widening job scam." According to TWC2, five of the individuals were sent to work in a food and beverage establishment, five in a warehouse, two at cleaning companies and one at a company described as a "tour coach agency". The men were paid less than what was stated in their in-principle agreements, worked "horrendous hours", would be put to work almost immediately upon arrival in Singapore and would not be sent to MOM for the mandatory step of the issuance of the TEP until nearly 30 days after arrival, alleged the non-profit. "MOM will not hesitate to take enforcement action against errant employers who misuse TEPs to circumvent our work pass framework," the ministry added. "This includes suspending errant employers' work pass privileges, administering financial penalties or even prosecution depending on the severity of the breach. Affected workers may reach out to MOM for assistance."
