COMPULSORY USE OF CHILD CAR SEATS
KUCHING: Many people have expressed their frustration over the compulsory use of children’s safety seats in their cars.
The seat ruling approved by the federal government in December last year will take effect starting July 1 this year, said the director of the state Road Transport Department (JPJ) Mohd Syafiq Anas Abdullah on Jan 18.
Drivers who failed to comply with the ruling after that date will be fined between RM300 and RM1,000 or risk prosecution in court. An offender can be fined RM2,000 or jailed for six months.
A survey of retail shops in the city revealed that the prices of child car seats range from about RM300 to RM900.
A worker at a baby-related retail shop, Mummycare, said the child car seats were getting expensive because most of them were imported which involved the conversion of foreign currencies to the ringgit.
“When the foreign exchange is not in our favour, the prices become high. As you can see, every brand has a different price and different style; some with additional functions or accessories,” she told New Sarawak Tribune.
At Just Babies, the staff also shared the same insight on the prices of the seats.
“There are three types of child car seats for newborns of different weights ― 0-13kg, 0-18 kg and 9-36kg.
“The prices used to be around RM90 to RM250, but in the future, I won’t be surprised if they reach up to around RM1,000,” he said.
Several parents were asked about the issue and most of them were not in favour of the new rule, but they did agree that the government should subsidise the prices of the seats.
Hazirah Abu Bakar, 23, who is self-employed, called the ruling “ridiculous” considering the current less-than-ideal state of the economy.
“If one child car seat costs more than RM250, and a family has more than two children, it would be troublesome if there is no subsidy from the government,” she said.
“The government should have looked thoroughly at the current state of the economy and the prices of child car seats before passing the law.”
Hazirah, who has a three-year-old son, is currently looking for an affordable secondhand child car seat.
Florence Audrey, 23, a housewife who recently had a child, shared the same opinion.
“They really should come up with financial aid upon making the ruling on compulsory child car seat, especially with regards to people who are in the B40 and M40 income groups.
“Some people can’t even afford used child car seats as the prices are around RM150 to RM250,” she said.
Audrey added that even though the ruling had good intentions, its implementation would be questionable from the perspectives of enforcement and the affordability of the seats.
A 28-year-old vehicle salesperson, Adrian Chua, said the government could perhaps provide incentives for parents just for the purchase of child car seats.
“When I saw a viral post on Facebook that showed a child car seat priced at RM900, I was shocked. The government should step in and resolve the issue before anyone got punished for his or her inability to buy such a seat,” he said.
Chua also stated that as a father and a parent to three children, he wants his children safe in his car, but the seat ruling should be worked out in detail before getting approved.
