KAJANG, July 19 — Transport Minister Anthony Loke Siew Fook today said the mandatory use of the child car seat starting January 2019 will be reviewed as the current administration is not bound by the announcements made by the former Barisan Nasional government.

He said his ministry will first look into the use of rear seatbelts, which is still low, before enforcing the use of child car seat.

"We need to look at the practicality before we can implement and enforce it.

"As of now, it was only announced by the previous government. We are not tied to what was previously announced as we are now a new government,” he told reporters during his visit at the Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research (Miros).

Loke said before implementing any new enforcement, enough time is needed to ensure that the public is aware and prepared for it.

However, he said that Malaysians should not wait for the law to be gazetted as the use of child car seats is a matter of safety.

The previous government had in June 2017 announced that the enforcement of the safety devices will only start in 2019.

The enforcement of the use of rear seat belts began in January 2009. However, a 2014 study by Miros showed only 8.6 per cent of passengers put on the rear seat belt.