PETALING JAYA: The government is in the early phases of reviewing and researching the possibility of adopting a “lemon law”, says domestic trade and cost of living minister Armizan Mohd Ali.

Saying it was necessary to analyse international practices before adapting them for local use, he told FMT that Malaysia was actively addressing the issue of consumer protection for defective vehicles.

Armizan said this in response to calls from the Consumers’ Association of Penang to introduce a lemon law, or legal remedy, for consumers who purchase defective vehicles, whether old or new, that fail to fulfil quality and performance criteria within a specified time frame.

The US, Singapore, South Korea, China and the Philippines are among countries that have adopted a lemon law.

In 2004, Singapore included a lemon law in its Consumer Protection (Fair Trading) Act.

However, Armizan noted that Malaysia’s Consumer Protection Act 1999 did protect consumers from defective automobiles.

“The act protects consumers regarding defective vehicles in several ways, although it is not explicitly a ‘lemon law’ and does not offer specific remedies such as car buybacks for unrepairable defects.

“It provides various provisions that can be applied to address problems with faulty vehicles.”

Recently, two reports of newly bought vehicles that were defective went viral on social media.

Clerk S Nagakanni said her new Perodua Bezza broke down eight hours after purchase and that she was forced to pay the RM537 monthly loan payment despite the automobile being stranded at a service centre.

Meanwhile, Noriya Mamat from Terengganu said her newly bought Honda HR-V had been stranded at a service centre for four months after she sent it in a month after its purchase for servicing at the 1,000km mileage mark.

She said she had had to settle the monthly repayment of RM1,500 for a car she was unable to drive.