Sunday 27 July 2014

Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri


VEP for S'pore-registered vehicles entering Johor to be capped at RM50

VEP for S'pore-registered vehicles entering Johor to be capped at RM50

The Vehicle Entry Permit (VEP) for Singaporean-registered vehicles entering Johor will be capped at RM50 (S$19.50), according to a report in Malaysia's New Straits Times.

Malaysia's Transport Ministry says it will set an amount that is affordable for Singaporeans, as it does not want tourist numbers to drop.

The VEP will be introduced at the Johor-Singapore Causeway and the Malaysia-Singapore Second Link. The ministry hopes to implement the VEP by the end-2014.

~News courtesy of Channel Newsasia~

Thursday 17 July 2014

Malaysia to charge foreign motorists entering Johor

Malaysia to charge foreign motorists entering Johor

Malaysia on Wednesday announced that it will charge drivers of all foreign vehicles entering Johor Bahru.

According to The Star, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said the decision to implement the Vehicle Entry Permit (VEP) fee was made following a request from the state.

Najib also said the date of implementation of the fee and the rates will be announced later.

Deputy Transport Minister Abdul Aziz Kaprawi said the ministry was fine-tuning the proposed VEP charge.

However, he said the VEP charge would not be applicable at the border checkpoints in the northern part of the Malaysian peninsula.

"We are taking a bilateral approach only between Malaysia and Singapore because only Singapore is imposing a VEP charge on Malaysian vehicles and not the other countries," said Abdul Aziz.

Johor Chief Minister Mohamed Khaled Nordin had said the Johor government suggested a VEP charge of RM20 (S$7.80), with RM5 going to the state government for road maintenance, for Singapore vehicles entering Malaysia through the Causeway and the Second Link.

Singapore had earlier announced an increased VEP charge of S$35, from S$20, on foreign vehicles entering the republic effective Aug 1.

In response, Malaysia’s UMNO Youth also proposed on Tuesday imposing a fee on Singaporean cars entering Malaysia.

~News courtesy of Channel Newsasia~

Wednesday 16 July 2014

Full list of tourist spots published

Full list of tourist spots published

THE state government has published a tourist guidebook to promote Johor’s tourism products.

State Tourism, Domestic Trade and Consumerism executive committee chairman Datuk Tee Siew Kiong said the book was published following some tourists’ complaints that the state lacked tourist attractions.

“The book was published after a visit to all 10 districts of Johor. It lists all the tourism products of each district and can serve as a guide and reference for tourists,” said Tee.

He said 5,000 copies of the book had been printed and would be handed out to all the travel agencies, which would in turn will distribute the book to their clients.

“We also plan to make the book available at all the state’s entry points, like the airport and the CIQ building, so that all visitors can learn about Johor’s tourism products.

Tee was speaking to the media after launching the MITM Travel Fair organised by the Malaysian Chinese Tourism Association (MCTA). Also present were MCTA president Paul Paw, MCTA Johor chapter chairman Alvin Ho and Firefly chief executive officer Ignatius Ong.

At the event, Tee also launched Firefly’s new Johor Baru-Ipoh route, which will commence on Sept 15.

Ong said there was high domestic demand for flights to Johor, which served as the airline’s southern hub.

“We have already sold 40 per cent of the tickets for the maiden flight on Sept 15. We will be using our new ATR 72–600 aircraft to service this new route,” said Ong.

He said the airline had received three ATR 72–600 aircraft since last year and would receive the remaining 17 by 2017. Firefly had invested RM3 billion to buy the new planes.

“We will use the new planes to increase the frequency of our existing flight routes as well as to explore new routes.

“The shortage of aircraft was a real constraint for us but we will be able to fly to new destinations when we receive all our new planes,” said Ong.


Datuk Tee Siew Keong (third from left) shows the tourist guidebook at the launch of the Malaysia International Travel Mart Travel Fair 2014.

~News courtesy of New Straits Times~