Drivers of Malaysia-registered cars told TODAY they were unhappy about the latest charge. — TODAY pic

SINGAPORE, Jan 17 — In response to the road charge levied two months ago by the Malaysian government on all foreign-registered vehicles entering the country, Singapore’s Land Transport Authority (LTA) said yesterday that it would be imposing a similar charge next month.

From Feb 15, all foreign-registered cars entering Singapore via the Causeway from Johor will have to pay S$6.40 (RM20), called the Reciprocal Road Charge. This will be on top of the existing Vehicle Entry Permit (VEP), toll charges and fixed Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) fees that drivers must pay at the checkpoints.

Yesterday’s announcement is part of a longstanding series of charges that both Johor and Singapore have consecutively levied on motorists.

In Parliament last Monday, Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan said that Singapore would match the charge, adding that around RM13.9 million was collected from Singapore vehicles between Nov 1 and Dec 20 last year. He told the House that Singapore has “a long-standing policy of matching any levy, tolls or fees charged by Malaysia for using the road links between Singapore and Malaysia”.

“This is to ensure that Malaysia takes into consideration our response whenever they raise their tolls or introduce a new levy,” he added.

Singapore already charges S$35 for the VEP on foreign-registered cars entering the city-state, although each vehicle is given 10 free days a year and there are no charges during the weekends. Cars entering Singapore between 5pm and 2am from Monday to Friday are also exempt from VEP.

Malaysia also has its VEP, which requires Singapore cars to register with Malaysia’s Road Transport Department before entering the country. While registration has been suspended until further notice, it is not known if the charge has been implemented, as it had been postponed several times.

Last Friday, Malaysian opposition lawmaker Wong Shu Qi of the Democratic Action Party told the media: “A toll war on both sides of the Causeway essentially creates a toll wall alienating people, families and businesses in Johor and Singapore.” And she observed that this “war is escalating”.

Drivers of Malaysia-registered cars told TODAY they were unhappy about the latest charge, implemented in the face of a weak Malaysian ringgit. Cindy Chin, 27, who makes three trips a week to Singapore for business, said that “Malaysian drivers might be paying more than Singaporean drivers” after currency conversion.

For those who make cross-border trips for work, the new charge is expected to affect their earnings. Muhd Sufian, 40, a driver who makes daily trips across the Causeway to ferry passengers, said that he would not be increasing fares, because he is afraid he “might lose some passengers”. So he is paying the charge out of his own pocket.

Others are thinking of cutting back on leisure trips. A motorist, who wanted to be known only as Goh, shuttles between Johor and Singapore. The 50-year-old, who is in the renovation business and based in Johor, plans to drive only when pressed for time. “My business partners in Singapore, sometimes they invite me over for tea, or to catch up. I will have to reject them because it will get more expensive to travel, especially with the Ringgit so weak now,” he said.

Aaron Faiz, 31, a marketing director based in Kuala Lumpur who comes over by car to visit his family once every two months, said of the series of back-and-forth charges: “I don’t understand why Singapore has to reciprocate every charge Malaysia implements. Any fare increase does not benefit anyone.” — TODAY