AKG Autoworks owner Azreen (middle) giving pointers to his worker at his workshop in Taman Kota Masai, Pasir Gudang.
THE Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry is urged to introduce a single invoicing system for all auto repair workshops in the country in line with enforcement of new regulations.
Alsagoff Garage owner Syed Hussein Alsagoff said there were thousands of workshops in the country with different invoice forms from one another, some of which did not comply with the Consumer Protection (Workshops Information Disclosure) (Amendment) Regulations 2022.
“The ministry could first sit down again with the workshop associations before coming up with these applications so that every customer knows what to check for after the service has been provided.
“The customer can also get better information, especially on the spare parts, whether they are new, used or restored,” he said when contacted.
Instead of a written document, customers could pick and choose the parts they want, and the details of the parts should be inside the system before the service was provided, he added.
“Then they can have a soft copy of the receipt that they can download from the system or keep for future reference.”
Syed Hussein also said the new regulations would push the price of services, provided by workshops, higher since all workers would need to get certified.
“Right now, owners are struggling to send their workers for certification, which means they will have to come up with another budget and at the same time, have either less manpower to work with or shut down their operations for a while, which is also costly.
“So everything has a cost, which will ultimately be transferred to the customer, and there is nothing that the government can do about this,” he said.
Meanwhile, AKG Autoworks owner Azreen Men said the new regulations would also push workshop owners to hire local workers instead of foreigners.
“This also means that only those who are qualified and certified will be handling vehicles at workshops, which is also a plus point for the standards and reputation of the premises.
“Customer rights are also better protected, and they can choose which workshops they want to get services from,” he said, adding that this should be taken as a positive move forward by workshop owners.
AKG Autoworks also provided a Practical Assessment Centre-Recognition of Prior Achievements (PPA-PPT) for workers who had skills but did not have the certification, he added.
“They can refresh their skills until they receive the certification from the Skills Development Department (JKM),” he said.
The Consumer Protection (Workshops Information Disclosure) (Amendment) Regulations 2022 was supposed to have been enforced last year but the ministry gave a one-year grace period for all workshop operators to come on board.
Enforcement of the amendment, which was gazetted on June 22, 2022, after a series of engagements with industry players, had been postponed for a year from July 1, 2022, to July 1, 2023, to allow those affected to prepare for the changes.
