MALAYSIA – Tyre traders in Sarawak urge the government to review tyre taxes in bid to lower cost of tyres.
When tyre prices are lower, consumers are more likely to buy replacements rather than use tyres well beyond their limits, said Temenggong Lu Kim Yong, Vice President of Malaysia Motorcycle and Scooter Dealers Association
“Tyre is a necessity because it forms a crucial part of a vehicle. The safety of road users depends on it,” he said.
The average price for a Perodua Kancil tyre was about RM120, said Lau Mong Hong of the Sarawak Tyre Dealers and Retreading Association.
In lieu of this, a new ruling, which came into effect on September 1 mandates that tyres must have safety labels of ‘MS’, ‘DOT’ or ‘E’ ; whilst helmets will be marked ‘accordingly with either an MS1? or an ‘E’.
KPDNKK state director Wan Ahmad Uzir Wan Sulaiman said traders were given a grace period of three to six months to comply with the ruling.
“Under the new ruling, those that do not comply can be penalised RM100,000 or be imprisoned for three years for individuals and RM200,000 for companies,” he said.
The KPDNKK officers would inspect helmets and tyres for the labels.
“For supermarkets which sell helmets that do not comply with the safety standards, we would normally advice them to remove it from their shelves first.”
He said that based on Puspakom’s estimate, only 30% of the 3 million commercial and private vehicles inspected across the nation had tyre problems.
“Studies have also found that more than 20% of road accidents were caused by tyre defects.”
“Retread tyres are very dangerous because it is prone to explosion which will endanger those in the vehicle and road users. What I am worried about is that these tyres might explode when the vehicle is speeding. Retread tyres are only about 6mm thick and below 3mm it is considered to have reached the danger point, meaning it can burst at anytime, ” he cautioned.