Before this year, only one death had been officially recorded as being caused by the airbag which is activated in the event of an accident. That incident in July 2014, in Sarawak, was one of a number of similar deaths reported worldwide at the time that had resulted in a recall of Honda cars in Europe and Asia. A previous recall had taken place in the United States in 2008.
However, the lack of proper auto safety laws and enforcement in the country did not see the car manufacturer take the same level of urgency in Malaysia as in the United States, Europe and some other Asian countries, Associated Press (AP) reported.
A spokesman for local consumer group, Malaysian Association of Standards Users, was quoted by AP as saying the deaths are a direct result of the lax auto safety laws in the country.
This includes there being no requirement by the authorities for manufacturers to issue public notices of recalls or keep central databases enabling car owners to check if their vehicles are affected.
Hence, the group is pushing for a new vehicle safety authority similar to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in the United States.
According to AP, all the deaths in Malaysia involved Honda City cars which had been in anything from minor fender benders to slightly more damaging accidents.
Honda Malaysia had also acknowledged the fatalities but stopped short of saying it was a direct result of the faulty airbags, in an official statement following the first two deaths which occurred in April and May this year.
“Honda has confirmed that the Takata single stage (SDI) driver’s airbag inflators ruptured in two accidents in April and May respectively in Malaysia. Both accidents resulted in the tragic deaths of the drivers. No official cause of death has been yet determined for either case. Our thoughts and deepest sympathies are with the families of the drivers during this difficult time.
“1) A crash on April 16, 2016, in Sabah state
“Honda has confirmed during an inspection with the Royal Malaysia Police that the Takata single stage (SDI) driver’s airbag inflator ruptured in the crash of a 2006 Honda City on April 16, 2016, in Sabah state. The vehicle involved in this crash was included in a Malaysian Product Update (recall) announced on May 21, 2015, requiring replacement of the SDI inflator of the Takata driver’s front airbag.
“2) A crash on May 1, 2016, in Kedah state
“Honda has confirmed during an inspection with the Royal Malaysia Police that the Takata single stage (SDI) driver’s airbag inflator ruptured in the crash of a 2003 Honda City on May 1, 2016, in Kedah state. The vehicle involved in this crash was included in a Malaysian Product Update (recall) announced on December 8, 2014, requiring replacement of the SDI inflator of the Takata driver’s front airbag.”
In an exclusive interview with AP, his first since the April 16 incident in Sabah, Abdullah Shamshir Abdul Mokti, the husband of victim Nida Fatin Mat Asis said they had not heard about the recall and never received a notice from Honda.
The couple, both doctors, bought their used 2006 Honda City in 2012 in Kuala Lumpur, and took it with them when they were posted to a rural town in Sabah in 2013.
Reporting the facts of the case, AP said Nida, 29, was driving the morning she died because Shamshir was tired from night duty. Immediately after the accident, he thought she had suffered a concussion. Horrified to find no pulse, he shined a light into her eyes. Her pupils were fixed and dilated.
“The inflator must have shot through her mouth like a bullet,” Shamshir was quoted as saying by AP.
The post-mortem report, shown to AP, states that examiners had found a broken, 2.6cm diameter, 2cm long air bag inflator, lodged in the base of Nida’s skull. Her teeth were smashed and her nose fractured. Injuries to her brain stem was the likely cause of death, the post mortem stated.
“As a Muslim, I accepted her death as fate but I also believe she is a victim of multinational corporate manslaughter.
“I hold Honda and Takata responsible. This isn’t an isolated case. We have five deaths in Malaysia, five very preventable deaths,” Shamshir said, according to AP.
The next three deaths involving drivers of Honda City this year, took place in Kedah in May, Selangor on June 26 and the latest in Johor on Sept 24.