DECISION ON ‘LEMON LAW’ BY SEPTEMBER
Ministry to appoint consultants in June to conduct feasibility study
The Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry is expected to decide on the “lemon law” by September, the Dewan Negara was told yesterday.
Deputy minister Fuziah Salleh said the ministry would appoint consultants in June to conduct a feasibility study on the “lemon law”, with the terms of reference to be completed within four months.
“They will need to produce findings based on their engagement with relevant stakeholders and parties, including banks. “They must conduct a comparison of lemon laws adopted in other countries to address any gap.
“Therefore, by September, we anticipate being able to determine whether a new act (lemon law) is necessary, or if we need to amend existing ones to address any gap,” she said, in reply to Senator Tan Sri Low Kian Chuan.
Low asked on the timeline for drafting and tabling a bill equivalent to the “lemon law” in Parliament to protect consumer rights, given the increase in cases of vehicle breakdowns even in newly purchased vehicles. In January, Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Minister Datuk Armizan Mohd Ali said the government was considering adopting a “lemon law” to better protect consumers against defective vehicles.
He, however, said, it was in the early stages of reviewing and researching the law.
Lemon laws are regulations that attempt to protect consumers in the event that they purchase a defective vehicle or other consumer products or services, referred to as lemons, that do not meet their purported quality or usefulness.
Countries, such as the United States, Singapore, South Korea, China, and the Philippines, have adopted the “lemon law”.
While Malaysia has a Consumer Protection Act, Armizan noted that it did not cover consumers with defective vehicles.