The National Automotive Policy (NAP) which will ban the import of used car spare parts (halfcut) will affect both the seller and consumer.Read the full news from Bernama below.
JOHOR BAHARU, ) — Banning the import of used-car spare parts beginning 2011, is perceived as a double-edged sword.
Not only will it gravely affect owners of old cars but kill the used-car spare parts industry, an industry player said on Saturday.
More than 5,000 dealers of used-car spare parts nationwide would be affected by the move under the National Automotive Policy announced recently, with about 100,000 people expected to lose their jobs.
“The ban would most probably kill the industry completely, with about 100,000 jobs lost,” said dealer Ng Keng Heng during a press conference by the Johor Used Car Spare Part-Dealers Association here on Saturday.
He felt that a thorough study should have been made before the government decided to implement the policy.
With the majority of Malaysians earning between RM2,000 and RM3,000 monthly, many could not afford to pay thousands of ringgit on brand-new spare parts for their cars, added Ng.
He said, second-hand parts were as reliable as brand-new ones as their life span was about 90 per cent of the brand-new spare parts.
Earlier, Ng was among more than 40 association members who launched a protest against the ban at Taman Mount Austin.
Another dealer, Julian Lee, 55, believed that if the government banned the import of used spare parts, it should also restrict the import of new cars into the country.
“Most new cars would run hassle-free for approximately 10 years, but once that period is up, brand-new spare parts would be expensive and hard to come by,” he said.
Lee said it was not justified for people to pay such high prices when the second-hand alternatives were only 20 to 30 per cent the price of brand-new ones.
Meanwhile, Woon Ser Yen, 33, hoped the government would reconsider the move to implement the ban.
He said it was difficult for them to earn profits running the business as it was, and the ban would be like adding salt to the wound.
Jom komen!