KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, -- Malaysia is beefing up safety standards for products and services to better protect consumers.

Deputy Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk S. Subramaniam said a safety standard regulation under the Consumer Protection Act 1999 for all products and services in Malaysia will be introduced soon.

"The ministry is in the process of drafting the regulation and it is expected to be completed in four months," he told reporters after opening the National Consumers Convention 2001 in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

Subramaniam said the regulation will provide guidelines that are acceptable in the industry to determine the safety standards of all goods manufactured and services provided by companies in Malaysia.

Among the products that require safety standards are home appliances, electrical products, toys and the like.

He said currently there are some manufacturers who have set up their own safety standards for their products but these regulations are only meant for specific and limited goods produced by that particular company.

Subramaniam said the regulations will benefit consumers in that they will be more assured and confident with regard to the security aspect of the products or services they purchase.

With the implementation of the regulations, he said it will then be compulsory for all manufacturers and service providers in the country to comply with the standards.

Soon after the ministry has introduced the regulations, he said, under the Consumer Protection Act, those who fail to produce goods or services in accordance with the standard safety requirements can be fined up to a maximum of RM250,000 for first time corporate offenders and RM500,000 for the second and subsequent offence.

Apart from that, he said the ministry is also studying the need to introduce a law to monitor and control the price of goods as well as services.

This move will involve the formation of a price surveillance commission.

Subramaniam said the proposed law is still at an early stage.

The ministry is looking at the feasibility and the rationale of imposing such a law.

He assured that this will only be confined to certain items under certain circumstances and generally market forces will still determine the price of products.

In his speech, Subramaniam said consumer movements in the country should also understand the need and problems of consumers at the macro level instead of focusing on the price rise issues alone.

Other aspects such as the country's economic system and international economy should also be considered.

He added that consumer bodies should also think on how the globalisation process will be beneficial to Malaysia's economy as well as consumers at large.

Source: New Straits Times