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12-year lifespan on cars won’t hurt Malaysians, says Hishammuddin

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The proposal to cap a lifespan on cars will not burden owners with debt, said acting Transport Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein (pic). Putrajaya is leaning towards imposing a vehicle end-of-life policy but the details of the proposal have yet to be finalised.

"I have to find a mechanism so that the people won't be unduly affected or burdened by the cost of living," he said today. "We may have to go ahead with what has been proposed but there might be mechanisms that won't create unnecessary burden," he added.

Deputy Transport Minister Datuk Abdul Aziz Kaprawi said on Sunday that the Road Transport Department (JPJ) will decide soon on a policy to impose a lifespan on cars. Yesterday, Parti Keadilan Rakyat strategist Rafizi Ramli objected to the proposal, saying it would aggravate people's finances since most Malaysians are on a nine-year car loan and would have to take a new car debt three years after.

Hishammuddin agreed with Rafizi's argument that going from one car debt to another would increase household debt. However, he said that "there are many ways to overcome this", without elaborating.

Director-general of the Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research (Miros) Professor Dr Wong Shaw Voon said last Friday that cars more than 12 years old were not safe to be on the road.

"There is a higher risk of death in an accident because such cars could be faulty without the driver being aware of it. Most cars are designed to have a lifespan of five to 12 years," he said.

In February this year, the Malaysia Automotive Institute proposed that vehicles older than 10 years should not be on the road if Putrajaya decided to go ahead with the full vehicle end-of-life policy. Consumer association Fomca had objected to the earlier proposal and suggested that cars more than 15 years old should be subject to a roadworthiness test.

There are more than 22 million vehicles on the road in the country with more than five million older than 10 years. – November 19, 2013.