He said motor accident victims would be shortchanged as the amount of damages would be lower.
“The injured and the next of kin of those who die in road accidents obtain a higher compensation from court awards now,” he said.
Kuthubul said this in response to comments by Consumers Association of Penang (CAP) president SM Mohamed Idris in FMT yesterday urging Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) to introduce the NFL.
Idris said motorists would likely have to pay more when detariffication of motor insurance starts on July 1.
He also said detariffication would inadvertently penalise good drivers through a plethora of factors, particularly their gender, age, car mileage and the occupation of the driver.
Instead of detariffication, Idris suggested that BNM introduce the NFL scheme.
He said the current fault-based system is based on the principle of corrective justice, which means that you have to pay if you are at fault.
Idris proposed that Malaysia emulate the model practised in Victoria, Australia, and run by the Transport Accident Commission (TAC).
He said besides Australia, the NFL scheme had been adopted in the US and Canada.
Under the NFL scheme, insurance companies will automatically make payments regardless of whether one is at fault.
Kuthubul said the Malaysian Bar had voiced its objections when there was a proposal to implement the NFL scheme 10 years ago.
“We had met Bank Negara officials and representatives of the motor insurance industry,” he added.