JOHOR BAHRU, Aug. 22 -- More than 400 Johor-based travel agencies claimed that business has been affected after Singapore authorities denied their Vehicle Entry Permit (VEP) applications for the past two years, affectively barring the licensed tour vehicles from entering the republic.

The group, represented by Khairul Anuar Mokhtar, claimed that due to the restriction that started in 2023, their premium passenger vehicles and also Tourism Malaysia's Hire & Drive licensed vehicles have lost up to 50 per cent of income as they are unable to enter Singapore.

"The travel agencies vehicles, consisting of several premium multi-purpose vehicles (MPV) such as Toyota Alphard, Toyota Vellfire, Hyundai Staria and Hyundai Starex, have had their VEP...