With the mandatory usage of childseats in cars coming into effect next month, parents have to start making the purchases to ensure they do not commit an offence (although summonses will not be issued during the first 6 months of the year). For 150 qualified parents, there is an opportunity to buy such seats at subsidised prices, thanks to BMW Malaysia, Safe ‘n Sound and Childline Foundation.
“With only 30% of drivers using child carseats for their children, it became more imperative for us as automakers to press on for child safety, regardless of the challenges we encounter in the fight for its education and accessibility. It is encouraging to see the Ministry of Transport take a definite step into making child carseats mandatory in the year to come, but at the same time, recognise that there are parents who may have limited access to them – therefore providing tax breaks and reduced excise fee for child carseats. In support of that, we are now bringing the subsidy programme online to make infant carrier carseats accessible to households with income less than RM3,000 a month,” said Harald Hoelzl, MD of BMW Group Malaysia.
BMW Malaysia aims to accelerate the adoption of child car seats through the subsidy programme as part of the BMW Safety 360° initiative. In collaboration with Childline Foundation and Safe ‘n Sound, 150 units of infant carrier carseats will be made available at a subsidized price of RM100 each.
BMW Malaysia and Safe ‘n Sound will be subsidising 150 snskidz Ace infant carrier carseats at RM100 each. The rear-facing infant carrier carseat, which retails at RM199, can be used from birth to 13 kgs and carries the ECE R44-04 certification.
How to register
Parents can register for the subsidised infant carrier car seat at www.safensound.com.my/pages/child-car-seat-subsidy-programme from now until December 15, 2019. Applicants eligible for the subsidy will be notified, after which a payment of RM100 must be made prior to the collection of the carseat.
“Parents will also be educated on the proper ways of choosing and installing the child carseats to ensure the utmost safety of their children upon collection of the infant carrier carseat. By educating them, we hope that they, too, will become advocates for child safety.” Said Datin Wong Poai Hong from Childline Foundation.
“While the BMW Safety 360° Programme has been running for over 5 years now, we hope to see more partners take active roles to ensure that child carseats are a norm in Malaysia, be it through education or increasing accessibility to them. Partners can also engage with Childline Foundation to further advocate for child safety. For both parents and partners, there is no better time than now to take action and they should not wait until the ruling comes into effect before considering child safety,” added Sashi Ambi, Head of Corporate Communications at BMW Group Malaysia.
