Mosti plans to establish standards coordinating council

MALACCA: The Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (Mosti) plans to set up a council to coordinate the development and implementation of standards comprehensively in the country.
Minister Datuk Seri Wilfred Madius Tangau said the council which would involve various ministries, departments, private agencies and consumer associations, would act as a body that ensures conformity with standard requirements similar to Malaysian Standard developed by the Standards and Industrial Research Institute of Malaysia (Sirim) and Malaysia Halal by the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (Jakim).
He said the council would also play an important role as a medium to promote cooperation between stakeholders involving 22 standard accreditation agencies, including Sirim and Jakim, to raise confidence on standards and ensure that the standards achieved fulfilled the people's needs and government policy requirements.
“More time is required before the council can be established and, when operational, it will strengthen the national standards ecosystem and ultimately increase consumer confidence towards a product under a certain standard, thus instilling confidence in our locally manufactured products,” he said at a news conference here, today.
Earlier, the minister officiated the opening of the Asia Pacific Metrology Mid-Year Programme in Bandar Hilir here, which was also attended by programme chairman Dr Toshiyuki Takatsuji and Asia Pacific Metrology Legal Forum president Stephen O'Brien.
A total of 68 participants from 15 countries, including Fiji, Bangladesh and Malaysia, are attending the seven-day meeting, which began yesterday, hosted by the National Metrology Institute of Malaysia and Sirim.
Wilfred Madius said the ministry had no plan to make it mandatory for every product manufacturer and service provider to obtain standards certification.
“It is not compulsory but it adds value and consumers will have more confidence in the products and services.
“The important thing is with the establishment of the council the public will be aware on the importance of buying products with certain standards and the advantage of using products or services which have been defined by standards and specifications,” he added. — Bernama