Through the NGO she founded, Child Passenger Safety Malaysia, she advocated for the enactment of laws mandating children be secured in car seats when on the road.

She pushed for this for more than five years before the government made the use of child safety seats in vehicles mandatory in January last year.

Tan also conducted Malaysia’s first national child passenger safety technician certification course in 2018, and has since helped certify 77 technicians locally and in Singapore.

In a statement, National Child Passenger Safety Board chairman Lonny Haschel lauded Tan’s efforts.

“Changing an entire country’s way of thinking about child passenger safety is the legacy of Jchanet Tan,” he said.

“She took it upon herself to become a technician and an instructor. She is a difference-maker and has demonstrated there are no limits or boundaries in the world of child passenger safety.”

Her crusade began when she went to a gathering of mothers and their children, many of whom expressed surprise when she placed her baby in a car seat as they had never seen such a thing.