Use Of Fake Motorcycle Spare Parts Getting Serious

[totalmotorcycle]

Use Of Fake Motorcycle Spare Parts Getting Serious
Wednesday, November 1, 2006 - Bernama - bernama.com.my



PENANG, Nov 1 (Bernama) -- The Federation of Asia Motorcycle Industries (FAMI) views the high use of fake motorcycle spare parts and components in the region as a threat to the sector and riders.

Its president Datuk Syed Mohamad Aidid Syed Murtaza said according to a report, 94 percent of these fake items were manufactured in Asian countries and 87.1 percent of them were sold within the respective countries in the region.

Between five and seven per cent of the motorcycle spare parts and components trade were fake items and the business was worth US$449.3 billion, he told a media conference at his office, here.

He said counterfeiting intellectual properties could bring harm to consumer countries like Malaysia and other nations, and the association's members had agreed to fight the crime.

Syed Mohamad Aidid, who is also the Motorcycle and Scooter Assemblers and Distributors Association of Malaysia Chairman, said the use of fake spare parts and components was one of the factors contributing to road accidents.

"Of late, road accidents involved many motorcycles and the use of fake parts has been identified as the cause of these accidents due to their inferior quality," he said.

Syed Mohamd Aidid who had just returned from the Second Intellectual Properties Symposium on Motorcycle in the Philippines last Oct 27 said the fake components issue caught the interests of delegates from the seven member nations of FAMI, namely Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Japan.

Among the weaknesses identified in curbing the use of fake motorcycle parts were lack of cooperation, expertise, knowledge and laws, he said.

As such, awareness and knowledge on the danger of using these fake items must be promoted among the consumers, he said.

Syed Mohamad Aidid also said that last year, a total of 434,000 motorcycles were registered in the country, and the number was expected to grow by 4.7 per cent this year.

Out of the 434,000 motorcycles in the country, 95 per cent were monopolised by the five main manufacturers including Honda, Yamaha and Modenas, and 13 per cent of the motorcycles sold were scooters.

-- BERNAMA