VIDEO | 3.29mins

Should the government limit the lifespan of cars to 12 years, people in the lower income group may be deprived of car ownership.

In street interviews conducted by KiniTV , low-income earners said they would have a hard time as they could only afford secondhand cars or cars that may be 12 years old and more.

"I am a villager. My earnings are not stable, they go up and down, unlike fixed wages. Thus, I only can afford older cars," said one respondent, Idris Manap.

"If I buy a 10 -year-old car, and before I can pay up my loan, in the next two years my car will have to be tolled away," Idris said, adding that this will be a burden on the low wage earners.

Used car dealer Peter Poon pointed out sales of used cars would deteriorate drastically as lower income people would not be able to purchase the older cars.

Used car dealers may have to close down

"I think a lot of poor people cannot afford to buy a car. We have a lot of used cars above 12 years old. It will create a big impact on our business because these cars cannot be sold.

"We will have to close down the business. Not only me, but a lot of used car dealers will be affected," said Poon.

Deputy Transport Minister Abdul Aziz Kaprawi had previously stated that the vehicle lifespan policy was to ensure safety on the road.

Aziz was quoted as saying last Saturday that this was based on a Malaysian Institute of Road Safety (Miros) study that cars more than 12 years old are unsafe for use .

However, Aziz today denied that the government plans to implement the car lifespan policy, and he went on to dismiss the issue as "an opposition speculation".

Miros director-general Wong Shaw Voon, who was also present at the press conference, said Miros never made an official recommendation to the government to introduce such a policy.