PUTRAJAYA: The government plans to introduce a lemon law or amend existing ones related to defective vehicles next March for a more comprehensive consumer protection framework, it was announced.
Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Minister Datuk Armizan Mohd Ali said a group of legal experts has been appointed to prepare a report on best practices implemented in several countries and hold engagement sessions with the relevant parties.
“They will start work from June until the end of September and submit a comprehensive report to the ministry,” he said after opening the Malaysian Consumer Symposium 2024 here yesterday, Bernama reported.
Lemon law is a statute that grants the purchaser of a car specific remedies if the car has a defect that impairs or significantly affects its use, value or safety and which cannot be repaired within a specified period.
Armizan cited four laws with Lemon Law features – Consumer Protection Act (Act 599), Contract Act 1950, Sale of Goods Act 1950 and Hire-Purchase Act 1967.
In the meantime, he said the ministry would implement two interim consumer protection strategies, namely the creation of a tripartite negotiation task force for motor vehicle complaints involving the ministry, buyers and distributors or manufacturers, and strengthening the process of the Tribunal for Consumer Claims Malaysia through the cooperation of Bank Negara.
This special negotiation involves new private vehicles (cars or motorcycles) not more than six months old from the date of registration that are still under the valid warranty period and yet to be modified, among others.
He said consumers facing issues with their new motor vehicles whose initial claims with the manufacturers were unsuccessful can submit their complaints through the ministry’s official channels.
Armizan said the ministry was also seeking Bank Negara’s cooperation to facilitate the issuance of consent letters by banking or financial institutions to allow consumers to make compensation claims at the tribunal or the courts.
He said among the constraints consumers faced when seeking compensation for faulty new vehicles was the difficulty in obtaining consent letters due to ownership issues under the Hire-Purchase Act 1967 that allowed the vehicles to be transferred to the consumer only upon completion of payment.
“It is expected that through this second strategy, consumers can successfully resolve their claims at the tribunal,” he said.
The minister said it was the government’s hope that industry players, especially the automotive industry, were willing to respond and cooperate in protecting consumer rights and fostering a fair and transparent market.
