JOHOR BARU: Malaysia and Singa­pore should scrap vehicle entry permit (VEP) fees on both sides of the Causeway, said SMI Association of Malaysia National president Teh Kee Sin (pic).

The two countries should look at the broader picture instead of engaging in “tit for tat” action.

“How can you call yourselves friendly neighbours if you start char­ging fee for entering each other’s houses?” he asked.

Teh said history had shown that Johor and Singapore were interdependent economically and socially, and they should be complemen­ting instead of competing with each other.

Singapore and Malaysia should also cooperate to further promote, develop and strengthen the economies of the two countries in view of the competitive global economy.

Deputy Transport Mi­­nister Datuk Abdul Aziz Kaprawi had on Saturday told pressmen that foreign vehicles entering the country from Singapore would be subject to a RM20 VEP fee.

The fee is for the vehicles using the Causeway here and the Second Link in Tanjung Kupang, Gelang Patah.

Johor Baru Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Datuk Loh Liam Hiang said the RM20 VEP fee would not prevent Singaporeans from coming here.

“It (S$7.90) is nothing to Singa­poreans due to the strong exchange rate. They will continue to come to Johor Baru,” he said.

He also suggested that the VEP fee should be equally divided between the fe­de­ral and state go­­vernments instead of Johor only getting RM5 from it.

“It must be utilised for the maintenance of roads in Johor Baru as you can see there are many potholes, uneven road surfaces and faulty traffic lights,” said Loh.

Johor Indian Business Association president P. Sivakumar said the real victims would be the people of both countries because they had to fork out extra money to tra­vel, apart from the high toll char­ges on the Causeway and Woodlands.