Johor sees steady return of S’porean shoppers

JOHOR BARU: The number of Singaporeans visiting Johor has seen a gradual improvement since the implementation of the Vehicle Entry Permit (VEP) on Oct 1, according to business groups.

Johor Baru Business and Hawker Association president Roland Lim said there had been a day-by-day increase in the number of Singaporean visitors but the crowd was not as big as it used to be.

“For now, it has not gone back to normal but there has been a gradual increase daily.

“But at the rate we are seeing, I believe that the situation will eventually go back to normal soon,” said Lim, who also runs a coffee shop in Johor Baru town.

Johor Tourist Guides Association chairman Jimmy Leong said the volume of vehicles entering the state through its land checkpoints does not necessarily reflect the number of visitors from the Island Republic.

“There have been slight improvements but it is not back to normal.

“You can see that there are still fewer people in the shops, eateries and other outlets that Singaporeans usually frequent,” he said.

“We need to remember that there are thousands of Johoreans working in Singapore, who come back to Johor during weekends.

“They may also contribute to the increase in the number of vehicles seen at our land checkpoints,” he added.

Sharing the same views was Malaysia Budget and Business Hotel Association Johor chapter chairman Jarod Chia, who said the drop in the number of guests was most significant in the earlier days of the VEP implementation.

“The most obvious drop was in the first few days and it gradually improved.

“Things have not completely gone back to normal yet,” he said.

Meanwhile, Johor Indian Muslim Entrepreneurs Association secretary-general Hussein Ibrahim holds a different view, saying that the situation has returned to normal.

“Perhaps, the smaller Singaporean crowd is because it is now the end of the year and people may be away for vacation elsewhere.

“I think that everything has gone back to normal,” he said.

Earlier, Transport Minister Anthony Loke said except for the first two days, the number of vehicles crossing to Johor from Singapore has returned to normal.