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KUALA LUMPUR: Parents responded positively to the use of Child Restraint System (CRS) which the government has made compulsory in private vehicles effective today, because of safety factor.
However, they are hoping that the government would introduce certain incentives for the purchase of the child car seat, besides to control the price so that it would not burden consumers, especially those with low income.
A private sector employee, Mohd Afif Zahri, 30, from Jitra, Kedah, said he had used the CRS since 2015, and found it capable of disciplining his child from distracting his driving.
“My child has been using the car seat since she was about one year plus, and this morning, when I wanted to send her to the kindergarten, she got in the car and sat on the CRS herself because she is used to it. That is her seat in the car since she was little,” he said when met by Bernama today.
Another parent, Zabidi Zolkefli, 34, who has two daughters, said the first CRS he bought, costing RM200 then, was three years ago for his first born, who is now six-years-old.
“What is important for me is the child’s safety, even if I don’t earn much. When she has overgrown, the car seat can be used by her younger sibling,” he added.
Zabidi, who is from Kangar, Perlis, however, hoped that the government could provide subsidy for parents with many children as the price of the child car seat ranged between RM200 to RM600.
Meanwhile, Zurina Abdul Karim, 30, who has three children, wants the government to control the price as not all parents could afford it.
“With the current high cost of living, the lower-earning parents, like myself, need to spend on more urgent matters, like infant formula, the children’s school needs and health care (than buying the CRS),” she said.
Mohd Firdaus Shaari, 37, from Shah Alam, Selangor, hoped the government could provide some relief or exemption for families with many children like him.
“I hope the government will relax the regulations on the use of CRS because for parents with a sedan car, like myself, we will have to change to a seven-seater multi-purpose vehicle to meet the requirements for three child car seats,” said the father of four, aged between two and 11 years.
A civil servant from Kuala Terengganu, Nik Nur Aishah Nik Zakaria, 36, took advantage of an online sale promotion recently to buy a CRS for her eight-month-old daughter, Wan Nur Alia Farhana Wan Haiza Azuan.
“I bought it for RM180 online. Otherwise, it is sold for RM300,” she added.
On Oct 23 last year, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail announced that the use of CRS in private cars will be mandatory from Jan 1, 2020.
The move towards mandatory use of child seat was based on the statistics of 1,559 deaths involving children aged 10 and below, recorded from 2007 to 2017.
However, the Road Transport Department (JPJ) has been instructed to not penalise drivers for the first six months of the new ruling. — Bernama
