Proton extends free rear seat belt installation

UALA LUMPUR: Proton on Thursday announced an extension of its free rear centre lap belt installation service from Dec 31 to Jan 31, 2012, as part of its ongoing Rear Centre Lap Belt Campaign.

Since the government first announced in June 2008 a new ruling to make it compulsory for vehicles to be fitted with the safety device, Proton has been installing rear centre lap belts at no cost to owners of affected Proton models -- the Saga LMST and Gen.2 models manufactured between 2004 and 2008.

"We would like to urge our customers with the affected cars, and Malaysians in general, to not only comply with the new ruling to avoid getting fined by the authorities, but to adopt the practice of using seat belts for rear occupants in the name of safety," said Proton Holdings Berhad Group Managing Director Datuk Seri  Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir in a statement.

And to further intensify efforts, eight Proton mobile teams each comprising four technical personnel were also dispatched beginning early this month to used car outlets and other locations such as mosques, hypermarkets and petrol stations around the country to reach out to Proton owners.

However, only about 17 per cent out of the 225,930 affected Proton vehicles have been installed with the rear centre lap belt.

Source: MOLE