Have you heard of the MS2669 vehicle tint money making game?

A few years ago, before we got ourselves a new government that wants to eradicate corruption, some window tint ‘taukeys came up with the MS2669 tint standard and then proposed it to the ‘then’ transport Minister.

The idea was simple. The MS2669 window tint films will come with a QR code, which enforcement officers need only to ‘scan’ with their phones to verify that it is of legal standard.

Now, this QR code insertion would add cost to all car owners installing window tint. Imagine, you will need a QR code for each window…..so the average car has front and rear plus the 4 side windows which translates to 6 QR codes at RM10.00 a code. This is a total of RM60.00 added to window tint pricing (assuming they charge RM10.00 a code, as we heard the going rate at the time was RM20.00 a QR code).

The large luxury MPV owner will need 8 QR codes.

Then all imported tint film has to be ‘tested’ and they suggested a really out of this world test….. ‘the boiling’ test. Yes, they wanted each roll of tint to be placed in a bath of boiling water. No where in the world is this test conducted and the legitimate and original tint companies from American and Japan and so on went back to their overseas factories to seek advice and their technical teams were stumped on why their tint rolls needed to be boiled.

Thankfully, this law was not passed and everything returned to normal until now….yes, the MS2669 saga has returned and now the parties involved (not authorized tint sellers) are pushing SIRIM, MIROS, KPDNHEP and MARii to move this standard with a ‘Majlis Pelancaran Garis Panduan’ tomorrow, the 19^th of June at the KPDNHEP building.

This has come about after too many complaints on fake and overpriced car window tint has reached KPDNHEP (Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs).

So, we want to know;

·             Why is the ‘Malaysia Window Film’ association not involved in this program?

·             Why are globally large window tint manufacturers like Madico, Sumitomo, Konica Minolta and 3M not involved in this program? It seems that only 3 brands are involved in this program…..product country of origin not confirmed as yet.

·             How will a QR code identify and verify the window film type?

·             Currently JPJ and Puspakom uses VLT meters that can read the installed window tint.

This all day ‘majlis’ will be an interesting one as the above organizations want to rewrite what Japan, America and other countries have been following for years with no issue.

We ask these questions,

1.         Who will be providing the QR codes?

2.         Who will be providing the phone APP for the enforcement officers to check the QR codes?

3.         Who will suddenly be ‘approved’ tint window suppliers?

4.         Who will be providing the back end IT systems to check the the codes?

5.         Who will be doing the ‘boiling’ tests and what global standards are they following?

6.         Who will be eliminating original authorized tint window film for the ‘new approved’ tint?

7.          Which government agency will be championing this cause?

8.         Who will set the pricing of the QR codes?

9.         Will there be an open and transparent tender for the supply of the QR codes and the IT system?

10.   Who will be brave enough to tell Malaysian car owners that they now have to rip out their current window tint and install a different tint with QR codes?

Quotes From 2017: “The MS2669 standard was proposed by the AAA (http://www.aaamy.my/about-us.htmlAuto Audio Accessories and Air-Condition Traders Association) and supported by the Transport Ministry and MIROS (Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research)” said our then (former) transport minister at the launch of the Malaysian Vehicle Tint Film Standardisation Mechanism way back in 2017.

He also added that it would take the guess-work out for consumers who would not know if the tint they’re fitting on their car is actually legal or not, seeing as how there are so many brands to choose from in the market.

“Before, there was no standard for car tint film makers and each had their own interpretation of what tint was acceptable under the law. With this mechanism, a lot of disputes over what tint is acceptable can be resolved” he added.

The QR code feature, however, will only come with the new MS2669-certified tints which are expected to be available at AAA-registered outlets before January 2018.

Your comments and response is appreciated to prevent more vehicles consumer abuse in our country.