Who Is In Charge of Vehicle Safety when Brand Owners 'Cuci Tangan'

In October 2014, the Malaysian Association of Standards Users raised concerns with Ministry of Transport and the Road Transport Department (JPJ) about the fatal airbag problem which was first reported in the United States. A year later discussions were held to investigate the matter and at that time the draft of a new Malaysian Standard on product safety and recalls management for suppliers was being finalized. Frustrated with the limited sense of urgency among regulators on the safety of airbags in cars on Malaysia roads, Standards Users studied and published a position paper on Auto Industry in Malaysia with regards to safety and performance. The position paper briefly maps out the plethora of agencies involved in the private automotive sector. We call this situation too many cooks spoil the soup. In short, calling for a centralized product safety commission and a road vehicle safety authority.  Here is why:

  • The National Consumers Complaints Centre (NCCC) reports millions of Ringgit of potential loss to consumers in the auto sector. Consumer complaints in the auto-sector involved more than RM 160 million (value of products -– cars / workshop services) from 2010 to 2014.

  • Against the backdrop of rising costs of living, rising prices of houses as well as private vehicles, purchasing these properties often leave Malaysians with a sour after-taste. Other than personal loans, car loans make young workers vulnerable to bankruptcy and contribute to the high levels of household debt in Malaysia.

  • Statistics from the Household Income and Basic Amenities Survey Report 2009 show a trend that an individual earning about RM 3,000 a month could be spending up to 50% of her / his income towards maintaining a car.

  • A spate of safety recalls in the private vehicle sector – such as the fatal air bag, unintended acceleration and faulty ignition cases – has eroded confidence in vehicle safety. Performance claims have been fraudulent – evident from the defeat device used by Volkswagen.

  • Despite many international recalls and even the death of a Malaysian due to faulty airbags, we still lack a competent authority with the likes of the US NHTSA to oversee the safety and performance of road vehicles. There is no authority to carry out essential protocols such as market surveillance on vehicle parts, protective and safety equipment, crash tests and mandatory New Car Assessment (NCAP) ratings. There is also a severe limitation of labs and testing facilities to support the need for market surveillance and assessment of energy efficient vehicle (EEV) performance.

  • With relatively poor public transport connectivity and reliability (outside Klang Valley), owning a private vehicle has become almost essential to many Malaysians. The Malaysian Automotive Association reported that about 600,000 new cars hit the road in Malaysia last year and the same number or more may be repeated this year and even next year – further clogging road systems and parking lots.

The position paper published in January 2016 and a couple of meetings with the severeal government agenices and automakers, may or may not have influenced some automakers to call a recall, recall and not service improvement or product improvement campaign. But we are still not sure if the dangerous airbags have all been replaced. My colleague just got hers replaced two months ago - around two and half years later! How many car owners out there are still driving around with a faulty and dangerous airbag deployment mechanism?

Today the Independent published news of disgruntled Malaysian car owners who happen to own a Chevrolet Cruze (http://www.theindependent.sg/why-no-recall-of-chevrolet-cruze-cars-in-malaysia/) and complained about the poor after sales services the car dealer has to offer to its many clients. One owner, said he was shocked that the car dealership where he bought the Cruze model dated 2010 in 2011, could not fix the car’s gearbox problem; and was asked to replace it for RM 30,000.00. This may or may not pose immediate safety risk but it is a clear performance problem which calls for free replacement and not wait for the warranty period to be over and wish the problem to go away.

What needs to happen in order to have safer cars on the road in Malaysia? Why the dilly dally in making recalls standard and incident reporting mandatory? Will the centralized road vehicle safety authority make yourself known?


Malaysian Association of Standards Users

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