KUCHING: The new standard guideline for toys that was supposed to be implemented on January 30 this year has been extended to July 30.
SAFE TOYS SOON: Ahmad holding the guideline during the press conference.
At a press conference held at Riverside Majestic yesterday, Ministry of Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Sarawak director Ahmad Uzir Wan Sulaiman said the reason was to provide more time for manufacturers to adhere to the new guideline.
“Initially, we had received several inputs from industry players that the cost to obtain the certification from Sirim Qas International Sdn Bhd is a burden to them, and we need to come up with a new measure,” Ahmad said.
He continued, after further consultation with various industry players such as Mattel, Sri Cinmal, Hasbro, Toy ‘R’ Us, and others had led to a decision to use self declaration method which could ease their burden and lead to the implementation of the policy.
“The self declaration method requires the importers for toys to declare their products and prepare a test report if being asked to by the authority such as the customs or the ministry,” he said.
He added that to simplify things, importers would need to present the customs with the self declaration form at all entry points to the country for each type of toys while for local manufacturers, the form could be submitted to the ministry.
“Although we are using a self-accountability approach, we are hoping that industry players to ensure that all their products are tested and proven to be following the guideline,” he said.
Entitled Consumer Protection (Safety Standards for Toys) Regulation 2009 and Consumer Protection (Certificate of Approval and Conformity Mark of Safety Standard) Regulation 2009, the new guideline was gazetted in July 2009.
The new policy is introduced to ensure that all toys in the market are safe for children.