“VEP renewals can also be done online without needing to wait for the existing VEP tag to expire,” he said at a press conference, adding that this includes vehicles that have changed ownership.
“Additionally, the VEPs will automatically be cancelled once they have expired, which occurs five years from the registration date.”
Loke also said notifications would be sent to vehicle owners 60 days, 30 days and 10 days before the VEP expiry date.
He said these changes to the VEP portal were implemented on Friday (June 28), minimising the need for email or counter transactions.
“We have also increased the number of staff managing email inquiries from five to 15.
“The number of VEP Collection Centre (VCC) staff has also been increased from seven to 12 people to better handle the influx of counter applications and enquiries.”
Loke promised further improvements, such as the introduction of the open toll payment system (OPS), which will allow the use of credit and debit cards alongside Touch n Go.
On June 14, CNA reported that Singaporean drivers were facing difficulties obtaining and renewing their VEPs ahead of the permit’s implementation on Oct 1.
According to the report, second-hand car owners reported difficulties because their cars had not been deregistered by their previous owners.
The report said many users had emailed complaints to JPJ, which took weeks to respond.
On another matter, Loke said effective today, the fee for printing the vehicle ownership certificate (VOC) in Peninsular Malaysia will be reduced from RM50 to RM20, while the fee in Sabah will be reduced from RM25 to RM20.
However, he said the fee for Sarawak will remain unchanged.
“This adjustment aims to narrow the fee disparity between Peninsular Malaysia, and Sabah and Sarawak.”
Loke also said periodic inspections for driving school vehicles will be reduced from every six months to once a year for vehicles that are less than 10 years old.
“Driving school vehicles that are less than three years old will be exempted from these inspections.
“Driving school vehicles that are more than 10 years old will continue to be inspected once every six months.”
He said this policy would encourage driving schools to use newer vehicles.