Tyre Makers Want Mandatory Standards For Imported Tyres
By Manisah Ismail
23 January 2002
PETALING JAYA, Selangor -- The Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers' Malaysian Automotive Tyre Manufacturers Industry Group (FMM MATMIG) wants the Government to impose a mandatory standards for tyres imported into the country.
Concerned about the large imports of used tyres, its chairman Ahmad Zubir Murshid said the worry was over the safety of road users and the impact on the environment.
He said the federation wanted all tyres for use in Malaysia to meet a certain standard.
The move, he added, would be similar to the regulations imposed by foreign countries on tyres exported by Malaysia.
Ahmad Zubir said FMM MATMIG had raised the matter five years ago and submitted reports to the relevant ministries.
They included a proposal on the standard of Malaysian tyres to the Science, Technology and Environment Ministry, and a report on the imports of second-hand tyres to the Ministry of International Trade and Industry.
FMM MATMIG comprises all four automotive tyre manufacturers in Malaysia comprising DMIB Berhad, Goodyear Malaysia Berhad, Silverstone Berhad and Sime Tyres International (M) Sdn Bhd.
Ahmad Zubir said imported second-hand tyres were not just safety hazards, but also posed environmental problems.
Tyre dumping are serious problems throughout the world, he told reporters after a briefing on imported second-hand tyres at Sime Darby Technology Centre today.
Investigations by FMM MATMIG revealed that used tyres from Korea and Japan have been exported to Malaysia as a strategy to dispose of their used tyres.
Statistics from the Department of Statistics revealed that 170,274 pieces of used tyres for buses or lorries and 43,170 pieces of used tyres for motorcars were imported between January and October last year.
The figures did not include imports of retreaded tyres over the same period last year which totalled 17,506 pieces for motorcycles, motorcars (8,030) and 4,221 pieces for buses or lorries.
Ahmad Zubir he said the life-spans of some of the tyres had already expired.
Saying that the use of second-hand tyres for motorcycles contributed to the accident rate, he said the federation was concerned that motorcycle owners were still buying retreaded tyres.
He said retreaded motorcycle tyres could be bought for less than RM8 each and about RM20 each for standard size motorcar tyres.
Some of these tyres are not suitable for our climate. For example, some are snow tyres but these tyres do sometimes get imported and used as second hand tyres, he added.
Source: The New Straitstimes, Malaysia 
|
Login | Sign Up
Home
