In short, the Lemon law are a set of laws that provide a remedy for purchasers of cars and other consumer goods in order to compensate for products that repeatedly fail to meet standards of quality and performance.
There are no Lemon Laws in Malaysia currently and most consumers have no recourse if they receive a dud. We’re guessing this is why Proton has been allowed to run its business in Malaysia for as long as it has.
Given the recent troubles of Perodua and two separate cases of Hondas with defects: one HR-V and the newly launched CR-V, it seems high time for lawmakers to seize this opportunity to gain some popularity for themselves, while doing a public good.
That’s good then that, as reported by NST, the government is considering introducing Lemon Laws in Malaysia.
Domestic trade and cost of living minister Armizan Mohd Ali said to a local news portal, they are in the early phases of reviewing and researching the law.
Malaysia has the Consumer Protection Act, but that does not cover us from defective automobiles.
“Although it is not explicitly a ‘lemon law’ and does not offer specific remedies such as car buybacks for unrepairable defects, the act protects consumers from defective vehicles in several ways,” he said.
We need only look at our affluent neighbours to the south to find an already working template of the laws.
Singapore incorporates its lemon law into its Consumer Protection (Fair Trading) Act (CPFTA) 2004 which provides consumers with some great protection.
They can:
- Make a claim on a defective product (also known as lemons) within six months of purchase.
- Have the seller of the defective product repair, replace, refund, or reduce the price of the defective product (subject to conditions).
- Have the defective product repaired within a reasonable time at the seller’s cost.
- Have the defective product replaced within a reasonable time at the seller’s cost.
- Ask for a price reduction while keeping the product or return the product for a refund if the seller fails to repair it (which would have helped the sugar Perodua).
As a society, Malaysians are an agreeable bunch, but with the rising costs of cars, the declining Ringgit, and a collapsing middle class, there is a need for laws to protect our hard-earned money.
Perhaps with these laws in in place, automakers in Malaysia may not be so inclined to skirt the edges of what’s reasonably expected in cars and actually make cars that are made reliably and that lasts for a long time.
