JOHOR BAHRU: The number of foreign vehicles using the land crossings between Malaysia and Singapore via the Johor Causeway and the Second Link has returned to normal following the enforcement of Vehicle Entry Permit (VEP), which is being done in stages from Oct 1.

Transport Minister Anthony Loke said that there was a drop in the number of vehicles on Tuesday and Wednesday, but the situation has returned to normal after the government provided assurances that no summonses will be issued to vehicles that have yet to install VEPs.

“On Oct 1 and 2, we have some reduction of car’s because people are worried, but on Oct 3, I went down and gave assurances that in the first phase, we only give reminders.

“For now we will not set a specific period of time (for not issuing summonses) because if the time period is too long, people will wait till the last minute to register,” he told reporters after officiating the Johor DAP convention here today, which was attended by Johor DAP chairman Liew Chin Tong.

He also suggested that VEP vendors increase registration locations to speed up applications and avoid congestion.

An estimated 400,000 travellers ply the land crossings on buses, cars and motorcycles daily.

Meanwhile, Loke, who is DAP secretary-general, said during his speech at the conference that the container operations at Tanjung Langsat Port here will spur Johor to grow into the largest economic power in the country, as the project would make Johor the only state in Peninsular Malaysia with three container ports.

Media reports indicated that Johor Corporation (JCorp), through its subsidiary JLand Group (JLG), officially launched container operations in the port on Friday.