NSTRDA’s 42nd Anniversary
The Negeri Sembilan Tyre Dealers & Retreaders Association (NSTDRA) celebrated its 42nd anniversary on 2nd September, 2018 at the Hee Lai Ton Restaurant (S2) Sdn Bhd.
Before the grand dinner, there was a Tyres, Machinery & Tools & Lubricant Exhibition, which saw the participation of 6 companies. They were Westlake Marketing (M) Sdn Bhd, LKM Machinery & Trading, Saramoly (M) Sdn Bhd, Toyo Autopark Sdn Bhd, Trux Resources Sdn Bhd and Webmax Technologies Sdn Bhd.
There was also a special appearance by the Team Westlake Malaysia (TWM) drift team. Four drift cars fitted with Westlake Sport RS tyres were lined up in the restaurant foyer and attracted many fans. TWM also gave a demo of their drifting skills and thrilled the crowd with their slick drift moves.
About 750 people attended the grand dinner, including Malaysian Association of Tyre Retreaders & Dealers Societies (MATRDS) President Foo Chong Seng, Tyre Retreading Manufacturers’ Association of Malaysia (TRMAM) President Chin Hong Meng, NSTDRA’s Honorary Advisors Loh Mui Sang, Lau Koon Ming and Lee Ruen Wah, members from various state tyre associations, guests and the media.
“As professional tyre dealers and distributors, we should educate and introduce the right tyre patterns to car owners that suit their applications. We should gather more strength in promoting the ‘Right Tyre Specification Awareness Campaign’,” said NSTDRA President Lai Jih Shen during the celebration dinner.
He continued that many car owners lacked tyre knowledge and were not familiar with a tyre structure and the various tyre patterns as well as how to choose the right tyre based on their applications. For instance, for drifting enthusiasts, they should use tyres that were suitable for drifting, instead of normal tyre patterns. For regions that had lots of rain, the motorists should choose tyres that featured good water evacuation for safety.
“However, above all is the driver’s attitude and behaviour that remain the long standing corner stone of road safety. Obeying traffic rules, saying no to reckless driving, not speeding in the rain, changing tyres at about 5mm remaining tread depth and many more to ensure a safe journey,” he stressed.
According to Lai, many tyre shops in Seremban were set up by young people from Titi and Jelebu as well as tyre chain store owners from Klang, Kuala Lumpur and Johor. The development and growth of economic, college and education centres in Seremban, the increasing number of cars and much lower shop rentals compared to other cities were the major attraction.
“Traditional tyre shops have been greatly affected by the wave of new tyre concept stores. The signage of some of these traditional tyre shops was not that attractive as they did not have any sponsorship from tyre manufacturers in the early days. Today, with the reduced advertising budget, tyre manufacturers would only sponsor tyre shops with new signage if they are able to meet their high sales target. This resulted in some of our members having to pay out of their own pockets for a new signage or could not afford to change their signage.”
Lai also announced the good news that agreed to sponsor the NSTDRA members with a new 4×20 or 4×25 signage without charge (including installation fee). In addition, they could place their company’s name and sponsors’ brand logos on the new signage.
“We strongly urge our members not to increase their remaining tyre stock retail price until the tyre manufacturers officially announce the new retail price after the implementation of the Sales and Service Tax (SST). The Royal Malaysian Custom Department and Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs would conduct random check on the price and they hope to get co-operation from the tyre industry to maintain the old price. In the short term, we believe that the tyre retail price would increase slowly to allow the transition to take place,” said MATRDS President Foo.
He pointed out that only businesses that made RM500,000 and above a year would be subjected to SST, which meant 90 per cent and above tyre shops were free from SST. For tyre shops that had been paying the Goods & Service Tax (GST), if they received a letter from the Royal Malaysian Custom or Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affair that required them to pay SST but were not liable to do so, they could appeal and ask for exemption.
“Retreaded tyres were not subjected to tax previously but are now taxed at 10 per cent. MATRDS already had a discussion with Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng on this matter. The selling price of retreaded tyres would become higher if the government imposed tax on them, which would affect the consumers and the growth of the industry,” he added.
Foo also pointed out that MATRDS received more than 10 fraud case complaints from members in Selangor, Perak, Johor and Sarawak. Many members were cheated. He said the number might be more as MATRDS made an announcement to warn members two months ago, which effectively put a stop to the fraud. However, he urged members to be on high alert for fraud.
Among the event highlights were the cake cutting ceremony and toasting, entertainment and lucky draw.
森美兰轮胎商公会庆祝创会42周年
森美兰轮胎商公会（NSTDRA）于2018年9月2日假喜来登（S2）海鲜酒家有限公司庆祝创会42周年。
该公会在联欢晚宴前，主办了一个小型轮胎、机械、工具及润滑机油展，吸引了6家公司参加。其中包括威狮行销（马）私人有限公司、LKM 机械及贸易、Saramoly（马）私人有限公司、Toyo Autopark私人有限公司、Trux 资源私人有限公司及Webmax科技私人有限公司。
值得一提的是这一次还有马来西亚威狮漂移车队（TWM）的特别演出。四辆安装上威狮Sport RS轮胎的漂移车排列在喜来登（S2）酒家门口，吸引了不少粉丝围观。 该车队也借此机会大显身手，为现场来宾带来了一场精彩绝伦的汽车漂移表演。
约有750人参加此次的晚宴，包括马来西亚轮胎商总会（MATRDS）会长符俊成、马来西亚轮胎翻新厂商公会会长陈汉明、森美兰轮胎商公会名誉顾问罗梅生、刘观明及李润华、各州轮胎公会代表、嘉宾及媒体。
“作为专业的轮胎代理和经销商，我们必须教育车主选择适合他们应用的轮胎。我们需要努力推广使用正规轮胎的醒觉运动。”森美兰轮胎商公会会长黎日森在其致词中表示。
他继续说，很多车主都缺乏对轮胎花纹结构和用途，以及如何正确选择适合他们的轮胎方面的知识。比方说，喜爱汽车漂移的驾驶人，应选用适合进行漂移活动的轮胎，而非一般的轮胎。在多雨量的地区，则应使用排水能力较强的轮胎花纹，确保安全。
“尽管如此，驾驶者的态度和行为才是安全的关键。遵守交通规则、不鲁莽驾驶、在雨天行驶时将车速放慢、在轮胎花纹深度大约5mm时就应该更换轮胎等等，才能安全抵达目的地。”他强调。
据他指出，近年来，除了来自知知港（Titi）和Jelebu年轻人到芙蓉来设立轮胎店外， 也有从巴生、吉隆坡及柔佛的轮胎商连锁店到森州开设分行。森州经济、学院及教育中心的增长，致使车量增加，再加上比其他城市较为低廉的商店租金等都是森州充满吸引力的主要原因。
“随着新概念轮胎服务中心的出现，森州的传统轮胎店深受影响。 这些老店的招牌缺乏吸引力，因为他们在开始创业时得不到轮胎厂家的资助。今天，厂家则因为广告预算费用减少，只资助那些达到他们所设定订购量的轮胎店更换招牌。这样一来，我们的会员就必须自掏腰包更换新招牌，至于资金有限的会员就只好作罢。”
接着，黎日森宣布了一项好消息。他说，威狮行销（马来西亚）同意免费（包含安装费）为该公会的会员提供一个4X20或4X25的招牌。会员还可在这面新招牌上印上他们的公司名称和赞助商的商标。
“我呼吁我们的会员在厂商未正式公布实行销售及服务税（SST）的最新售价前，应以存货旧价出售。关税局及贸消局会在近期抽样检查，政府希望轮胎业者能够配合，保持旧价。为了响应政府的号召，我相信短期内调涨价格的步伐会放慢。” 马来西亚轮胎商总会会长符俊成表示。
他指出，只有服务业务年营业额达到50万令吉及以上的轮胎业者，才需要缴付服务税。这意味着有90%的轮胎商无需缴付服务税，只有少部分会达标。那些在过去需要缴付服务税的业者，若收到来自关税局或贸消部的 公函，可申请取消。
“翻新轮胎在过去无需缴税，在实施销售及服务税后，如今要征税10%。总会已经就此事与财政部长林冠英交涉。翻新轮胎一旦征税，自然会提高售价，消费者必须负担，也不利于翻胎行业的发展。”他补充说。
符俊成指出，总会在全国各地接获来自雪兰莪、霹雳、柔佛及砂劳越的10多宗投诉。许多会员受骗。他表示，如果不是总会在两个月前发出有关通告，受骗的人数可能更多。为此，他呼吁会员提高警惕。
当晚的重点包括切蛋糕和敬酒仪式、余兴节目及幸运抽奖等。
