Transport Minister Anthony Loke says authorities will not renew the road tax of any vehicle involved in a global recall of Takata-made airbags, June 2, 2018. ― Picture by Firdaus Latif

KUALA LUMPUR, June 2 — Authorities will not renew the road tax of any vehicle involved in a global recall of Takata-made airbags that have killed at least 23 people worldwide unless owners show they have replaced these, said Anthony Loke.

The transport minister said the directive will take effect on Monday, adding that the drastic move was needed to prevent further deaths caused by the defective airbags.

Honda Malaysia confirmed the airbag inflators ruptured in a Honda City driven by Pong Hou Tien, 23, who was killed in the May 27 crash. His death brought the death toll in Malaysia to seven.

“For Malaysia alone there are 71,315 Honda vehicles that have yet to replace their airbags and that makes up about 20 per cent of the entire fleet recalled since 2014,” he said after meeting the victim's family at their home in Cheras today.

Last Sunday, Pong was believed to have been killed after his Honda City's front passenger side airbag deployed and ejected a two centimetre long rusted metal shard that pierced his neck at high speed following a car crash in Taman Len Seng around 5.30am, bringing the death toll involved to two this year.

In February, a man died after he was struck by shrapnel from an exploded driver's airbag inflator of his 2004 Honda City model following an accident in Selangor. The model was included in the mandatory recall announcement.

Loke said owners of affected vehicles may now only renew their roadtax manually at RTD offices and online renewals will be blocked.

“If they want to complain about me making their lives troublesome by having to go through a tedious process, let them do so.

“I would rather be complained at than visit another victim of an accident that could have been avoided in the first place,” he said.

Loke is also considering publishing the registration numbers of all owners who do not comply with the recall, but said discussions will be made with the respective car manufacturers first.

He criticised owners for ignoring the repeated recalls over the issue that emerged four years ago and was extensively covered by the press.

“I am not going to pinpoint anyone but we are here to find solutions,” he said, adding that manufacturers have done their to notify and remind customers of the recall.

In a statement, Honda Malaysia said Pong’s 2004 Honda City was listed in a 2015 recall, but was never sent in for repairs.

Supporting Honda's claim, Loke said 28 notice letters were sent to the victim's old address based on RTD records, with the latest delivered six days before the incident.

Loke also said the victim had not updated his address during the ownership transfer.

“We do not want the owners to wait until they are unable to renew their roadtax take necessary actions because this problem has been proven worldwide and there are statistics to back it up.

“Vehicle owners must also take responsibilities for the sake of their safety to spend some time getting their vehicles checked and if they passed inspection, then take it as a routine service and if replacement is required then at least they are aware of the dangers now,” he said.