PUBLISHED ONAugust 16, 2025 2:39 AMBYDrima ChakrabortyRide-hailing and chartered car drivers in Johor are planning to form an association following the recent crackdown by Singapore's Land Transport Authority (LTA) over illegal cross-border services.
Sin Chew Daily reported that the goal of the organisation is to get the attention of Malaysian transport minister Anthony Loke Siew Fook towards the drivers' plight.
One driver, surnamed Lim, told the Malaysian media outlet that documents had already been submitted to the Registrar of Societies to form the association, and that at least 1,000 of the over 4,000 estimated cross-border drivers in Johor had expressed their support.
While agreeing that many drivers do operate cross-border services illegally, Lim highlighted the importance of the service to Johor's tourism industry, and added that drivers were willing to comply with regulations should a pathway be provided for them to offer cross-border rides legally.
"Once the cross-border transport service is legalised, then we can negotiate with Singapore," Lim said.
"The purpose of forming the association is to gather feedback and collective strength to negotiate with the relevant ministries and accelerate the implementation of favourable and friendly policies."
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Currently, offenders who illegally provide ride-hailing services may be fined up to $3,000 and/or be jailed for up to six months in Singapore. Their vehicles may also be forfeited.
Sin Chew also spoke to a tour operator surnamed Lee, who has been a cross-border driver for 15 years and has been detained by enforcement officers four times since 2017.
He said: "We hope that through the association, we can meet with transport minister Anthony Loke and Johor menteri besar (chief minister) Onn Hafiz bin Ghazi to present our ideas to them."
Onn Hafiz previously posted on Facebook on Aug 1 that he had discussed a proposal for cross-border e-hailing services during a meeting with Singapore's Acting Transport Minister Jeffrey Siow.
But the LTA said that no decision had been made, adding: "While we are open to ideas to improve the cross-border commuting experience, we would like to clarify that LTA has no plan to fully liberalise cross-border point-to-point transport via ride-hail services."
Instead, the LTA added that it was exploring ways to enhance its existing cross-border taxi scheme, which allows a licensed fleet of up to 200 taxis from Singapore and Johor Bahru each to ferry passengers between the cities.
Meanwhile, Johor's Road Transport Department (JPJ) recently announced that it had seized four Singapore-registered vehicles, The Star reported.
"The drivers were ferrying tourists from Singapore and other nationalities into Johor during ongoing operations in Johor Bahru starting on Aug 9," said JPJ's director-general Aedy Fadly Ramli.
The drivers, who are Singaporeans in their 30s or 40s, did not possess the relevant permit to operate e-hailing services, nor did they have Malaysian road tax or public service vehicle registration, he said.
When asked if the seizures were due to LTA's recent crackdown, Aedy Fadly said: "That is the LTA's duty. This is carried out by JPJ with a different modus operandi, not as a reaction to LTA’s operations."
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drimac@asiaone.com