SIBU: Starting tomorrow, shops are not allowed to sell tyres and helmets without standard safety labels.
This was announced by Ministry of Domestic Trade, Co-operatives and Consumerism (MDTCC) state director Wan Ahmad Uzir Wan Sulaiman here yesterday.
He added that the new safety standard ruling which would come into effect tomorrow required every tyre sold in the market to bear standard safety label of ‘MS’ or ‘DOT’ or ‘E’, while all helmets must bear the standard safety labels of ‘MS’ and ‘E’.
“Our enforcement officers throughout the state would check on tyre shops for these labels,” Wan Uzir told The Borneo Post yesterday.
Early this year, Bernama reported that Domestic Trade, Co-operatives and Consumerism Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said safety standard labels, which would be gazetted on March 1, was to increase the protection for users and reduce the risk of accidents.
Sabri said the standard safety labels were introduced based on the specification stipulated under the Road Transport Act 1987.
Asked what punishment would be meted out on traders who failed to comply with the requirement, Wan Uzir said the ministry would only advise and encourage traders to follow the directive for now.
“Usually for a new act, we will give them a grace period of three to six months to comply before meting out action for non compliance,” he explained.
He also assured that the ministry would hold more campaigns to create better awareness among motorists and riders on the new standard safety labels.
“This is meant to safeguard the safety of road users and is going a long way to reduce the risks of accidents,” said Wan Uzir.
Meanwhile, a tyre shop operator advised motorists to replace their vehicle tyres if they were more than three years old.
However, he said the deterioration of tyre thread adhesion traction was determined by the distance and frequency of the travel.