Operators warn action on buses from Singapore will hurt tourism

Summary

• Sekretariat Gabungan Bas Malaysia questions the Transport Ministry's restrictions and enforcement against Singapore-registered buses operating in Peninsular Malaysia.

• Chairperson R Thiagarajan warns that this might have an impact on the Visit Malaysia 2026 tourism campaign.

Sekretariat Gabungan Bas Malaysia (SGBM) today questioned the Transport Ministry’s restriction and enforcement measures against buses from Singapore operating in Peninsular Malaysia.

Its chairperson R Thiagarajan said the ministry’s actions have significantly impacted the arrival of foreign tourists who use Singapore as a transit hub before continuing their travels to Malaysia.

“Recently, there have been several issues involving actions taken by the Land Public Transport Agency and the Road Transport Department (RTD), under the Transport Ministry’s direction, against the operations of Singapore-registered buses in Peninsular Malaysia.

“Such actions include the cancellation of special permits for operations in Peninsular Malaysia and the seizure of buses.

“The question is, why has the operation of cross-border public buses, which has generally been a policy agreement between the two countries, become a contentious issue?” Thiagarajan asked in a statement.

Malaysiakini has contacted the Transport Ministry for comment.

Thiagarajan added that these enforcement actions appear to have been taken without proper consideration of the established cross-border bus transport policy between the two countries.

He also said enforcement personnel have been inspecting all Singapore-registered buses at the country’s border checkpoints, including the Sultan Iskandar Building Customs, Immigration, and Quarantine Complex and Sultan Abu Bakar Complex (KSAB) in Johor.

“As a result of this, of course, there will be a negative impact on domestic tourism in Malaysia, due to the influx of foreign tourists from Singapore who have chosen it as the main transit hub connecting them to other Asean destinations, especially on the Singapore-Malaysia-Thailand route,” he said.

He asked if the Transport Ministry has forgotten about the Visit Malaysia 2026 campaign, as land transport would be a key network supporting it.

“If enforcement actions continue to be taken without proper consultation and without any prejudice, and without thorough discussion between agencies from both countries, it may jeopardise the success of the Visit Malaysia 2026 campaign,” he said.

SGBM also urged the transport and tourism ministries to engage in direct dialogue with key stakeholders, especially representatives of the bus transport industry from both countries, in order to find a win-win solution and ensure the success of the tourism campaign.

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