Ban Dummy Seat Belt Buckles Now, Not Dec 31!

The government has finally moved to outlaw the import of dummy seat belt buckles and latch plates - cheap, dangerous devices that mute seat belt warning alarms but offer no protection whatsoever in a crash.

These so-called accessories, often sold as "alarm stoppers" or "clip extenders", will be prohibited from entering Malaysia starting Dec 31 under a new Customs regulation, reported local daily The Star.

These products are not certified, not crash-tested, and do not comply with any recognised safety standards. Their only function is to trick your car into thinking a seat belt is fastened, when in fact it is not.

The result? Passengers travel unrestrained, without any real protection, especially in the event of a collision.

A quick search on popular e-commerce platform Shopee shows thousands of these items have already been sold to Malaysians, some as cheaply as RM1.90. And it’s not hard to see why they’re popular.

Not only cheap, they conveniently silence persistent seat belt beeper. But that beeper is there for a reason: to save lives.

Research by MIROS confirmed that these devices are not just useless, but deadly. In crash tests, dummy buckles have detached during impact, turning into projectiles and causing serious injuries to both front and rear passengers.

Worse, they disable the seat belt system altogether, undermining the effectiveness of airbags, which are designed to work together with seat belts, not replace them.

A survey by MIROS also revealed that 12.9% of 326 respondents admitted to using dummy seat belt buckles.

Which begs the question: if these devices are so clearly dangerous, why wait until Dec 31 to enforce the ban?

Road safety should never be subject to delays. This is reminiscent of the child car seat ruling, which despite much talk, remains unenforced. Meanwhile, these dummy buckles remain freely available and in active circulation. Thousands more will likely be sold between now and year-end, putting more lives at risk.

We’ve seen swift action before. Just recently, certain hard candy products were banned almost overnight after a child tragically choked to death. Why the months-long grace period now when it concerns road safety?

The Transport Ministry, JPJ and MCMC must do more. An immediate halt to the online sale of these hazardous devices is needed. Shopee and other platforms should be ordered to delist these items now, not later. No family should have to suffer the loss of a loved one over something so recklessly avoidable.

Lives are on the line. There is no excuse for delay.

P/S: We have reached out to Shopee and were advised that the platform is already in the process and delisting these sales posts however no specific timeline was given.