KUCHING: The Transport Ministry will instruct the Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research (Miros) to have detailed discussions with the association of vehicle manufacturers and sellers as well as the manufacturers or importers to reduce the retail prices of child restraint systems or CRS, the Parliament was told today (September 23).
This move was to make the CRS more affordable to the public.
Deputy Minister of Transport, Hasbi Habibollah said a study found an increase in parental awareness on the use of CSR for children’s safety.
“The study showed an increase in the use of child safety seats by six percent, from 38 percent in 2019 to 44 percent in 2020,” he said.
At the moment, the use of CRS is only mandatory for private vehicles.
In addition, exceptions are also given to those with large families.
Hasbi said this in response to a question by Senator Balasubramaniam a/l Nachiappan (Dewan Himpunan Penyokong PAS chairman-Bentong) on the government’s effort to ensure subsidised prices of the CRS.
“The government is very concerned about the costs of purchasing CRS equipment by parents and we also are aware that there are constraints in the implementation of CRS regulations in public service vehicles such as stage buses, express buses, taxis and e-hailing vehicles due to practical factors,” he pointed out.
