The ministry of domestic trade and cost of living (KPDN) says that the study looking into the need for a lemon law in Malaysia will be completed soon. According to KPDN minister Armizan Mohd Ali, the study began in June and is expected to be completed this month before being referred to the cabinet, Malaysiakini reports.
“In the near future. we will make policy decisions at the ministry level, whether we improve the existing legal framework or whether there is a need to enact a new act. As soon as the policy decision at the ministry level is implemented, we will raise it for the consideration of the cabinet,” he said in the Dewan Rakyat.
He said that a group of legal experts was appointed to prepare a report on the best practices used in other countries. Engagement sessions about the topic were also held. In the meantime, he said the ministry has implemented a temporary strategy to protect consumers, of which one of the measures has been the setting up of a negotiation team for motor vehicle complaints.
“Through this team, we become the component that will find a solution between buyers and manufacturers and also distributors for them to solve any issues that arise immediately,” he said. He said that between June 1 and September 30 this year, the team received and investigated 16 complaints.
Other measures are establishing SOPs to process applications from consumers for consent letters from banks and financial institutions, and requesting banking institutions to set up dedicated internal units to receive and process such applications. Earlier this year, KPDN had said it was looking at establishing an ombudsman to resolve vehicle complaint disputes.
A lemon law is a form of consumer protection, and there have been many calls to implement it here in the past. In essence, it requires cars under warranty that are found to be defective or unsafe to be fully repaired by the manufacturer. In the event the vehicle is deemed to be irreparable after a reasonable number of repair attempts, the buyer can be offered a refund or replacement.
The scope of what is covered by a lemon law vary depending on how it is implemented, but it generally overs defects that can significantly impact the functionality or safety of the car. Countries such as the United States, Australia, Canada, Singapore and the Philippines have already adopted some form of lemon law.
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Knowing how ‘industry players’ interests always outweigh the rakyats’, we’ll probably end up with air limau kosong at the end of this if we are lucky.
Conclusion is of course no kan? You gave ample time for all the manufacturers to lobby the relevant authorities.
The law won’t materialize. They will say current law is enough to protect consumers.
Winner takes all…for 4 decades no distributor has been faulted..only face saving refund is the perodua kencing manis fiasco after fierce backlash.
Even with the lemon law finally passed…the’ execution ‘ and implementation is another issue.
Nope. no law required says the cronies. so concludes the study!