The Vehicle Entry Permit imposed on cars entering Malaysia is not a discriminatory policy, says Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai.

The Transport Minister said VEP was a framework that was agreed upon by Asean countries.

“Singapore and Malaysia are part of Asean.

“We have discussed and agreed that each country has the right to set a fee for the entrance of foreign-registered vehicles,” he told reporters after a luncheon with local Chinese organisations yesterday.

Set to be enforced on July 16, a fee of RM20 is imposed on any car entering from countries bordering Malaysia, which includes Thailand, Singapore and Indonesia.

Liow said Singapore started imposing VEP for Malaysian-registered vehicles years ago and that Malaysia was only just starting to do so.

“There is no discrimination. Vehicles from Thailand and Indonesia are also required to pay the same rate,” he said.

Earlier, at the One Community One JPJ function, Liow said five plane debris found on foreign shores had been identified so far.

“The first one is the flaperon which was found near the French Réunion Island. That one is confirmed to be from the ill-fated Flight MH370.

“The remaining four, which were found at Mozambique and other parts of South Africa, are confirmed to originate from a Boeing 777 aircraft,” he added.

Liow said since there was only one Boeing 777 aircraft lost at sea, it was “highly likely” the debris was from MH370.

“Right now, we have reports of five more debris found at Madagascar and Australia. Our Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) will contact the authorities analysing the debris.

“If it is confirmed that the debris is from a Boeing 777, we will request for them to be sent back to Malaysia to be further analysed,” he said.

He urged the public not to speculate on the matter as the latest debris found had yet to be verified.

On a separate matter, Liow said investigations into the helicopter that crashed in Sarawak’s interior on May 5 were still ongoing.

“The currents of the (Batang Lupar) river is too strong.

“We are worried that the wreckage has been carried away and this will complicate our probe,” he said.

Liow said he had informed the DCA to come out with a detailed plan and hoped that the wreckage could be located soon to determine the cause of the crash.

He also said that starting July 1, all lorry operators should install reflectors approved by Sirim.

He said existing lorries had to get these installed before their annual Puspakom inspection to avoid a RM300 fine.

The measure, Liow added, was to ensure lorries remained visible at night to avoid accidents.

-The Star-