The subsidy programme would first be introduced to five government hospitals across the Klang Valley. BMW Malaysia will be working with the foundation and child car seat distributor Safe ‘n Sound to subsidise 150 snskidz Ace infant carrier car seats at RM100 each.
The rear-facing infant carrier car seat, which retails at RM199, can be used from birth to 13kg and carries the ECE R44-04 certification.
Earlier, the "From Day One" campaign kickstarted with the support of Chicco Malaysia where the first six babies born on Father’s Day at Hospital Putrajaya received a Chicco KeyFit 30 infant car seat. The new parents also learned about the best child safety practices from Childline Foundation’s passenger safety consultants. These include the right criteria for choosing a child car seat, proper methods for installation, as well as the lifecycle of a child car seat.
The foundation is a non-profit organisation focused on the awareness and education of child safety and protection.
“The best time and place for parents to start practising the right child safety values is before childbirth and at the hospital," said Childline Foundation honorary project director Datin Wong Poai Hong.
"This is an important touchpoint for us – by educating hospital personnel, we are able to build a sustainable way to educate and ensure parents leave hospitals with the right child car seat.”
BMW Malaysia's participation is part of its BMW Safety 360° Programme, now in its fifth edition.
"We want to make the use of child car seats instinctive; a basic practice when it comes to parenthood. This is why we are constantly partnering with experts from the industry to provide critical child safety education to parents and to make child car seats more accessible,” said BMW Group Malaysia managing director Harald Hoelzl.
