MALAYSIAN authorities have seized four Singapore-registered vehicles operating as unlicensed e-hailing services in Johor Bahru, charging passengers high fares for cross-border travel without legal permits or valid road tax.
The operations came to light following a special enforcement initiative — Ops Khas E-Hailing Kenderaan Asing — launched by the Road Transport Department (JPJ) on 9 August targeting illegal ride-hailing activities by foreign vehicles in the area.
JPJ Director-General Datuk Aedy Fadly Ramli confirmed that four Singaporean men, aged in their 30s and 40s, were caught transporting passengers — both Singaporean and foreign tourists — into Malaysia for leisure purposes using high-end vehicles such as the Toyota Alphard, Toyota Vellfire, Toyota Hiace van and Honda Spada.
“These vehicles had no valid operating licence, were not registered as public service vehicles, and did not possess Malaysian road tax,” Aedy said during a press conference late last night at JPJ Johor headquarters.
“They had no permit and were exploiting the system for profit. Imagine charging fares from as low as SGD180 (approximately RM590) up to thousands of Singapore dollars,” he added.
Among the fares cited by JPJ were SGD180 for a one-way trip to JB Sentral, SGD200 (RM655) to Legoland Malaysia, and as much as SGD1,200 (RM3,935) for journeys to Ipoh, Perak.
“These are exorbitant sums, and the risk increases if an accident occurs while these unlicensed services are operating within Malaysia. We do not want unauthorised ride-hailing operations jeopardising the safety of our roads and passengers,” Aedy stressed.
The vehicles were detained and seized under Section 80 of the Land Public Transport Act 2010 (APAD) and are being investigated under Section 16(1) of the same Act for providing public transport services without a valid operator’s licence.
Also present at the media briefing were JPJ Senior Director of Enforcement Muhammad Kifli Ma Hassan and Johor State Road Transport Director Azmil Zainal Adnan.
JPJ has pledged further investigations to identify and take action against those exploiting cross-border transport loopholes, in a move to safeguard public safety and uphold transport regulations within Malaysia. - August 15, 2025
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