An Analysis of the Institutional Framework of the Commercial Vehicle Rebuilt Industry in Malaysia

Rebuilt industry, also known as remanufacturing, is the practice of taking end-of-life goods and reengineering them back to as new or better condition. In Malaysia, one of significant remanufacturing activities is the automotive remanufacturing or rebuilt commercial vehicle industry. The industry has begun since 1970s, the time when the construction sector was booming. Despite of its importance in bringing to a sustainable development of a country, no studies have been conducted on the effectiveness of the practice in Malaysia. However, the recent problematic issue surrounding the industry has led to the call for this research. The purpose of this study is to explore the effectiveness of the institutional framework of the commercial vehicle rebuilt industry in Malaysia. The results obtained were based on seventeen interviews. All interviews were transcribed and the data were analysed using the content analysis method. The results demonstrated that with the present practice of the institutional framework allows some loopholes within the industry. These loopholes have led to the production of false document and thus excessive number of rebuilt commercial vehicles registered, far greater than the quota given by the Ministry. This issue arose due to unavailability of effective communication mechanisms among the relevant government authorities. This study provides insights into the strengths and weaknesses of the present governance in dealing with the rebuilt commercial vehicle industry in Malaysia. It is important as it opens up various issues that have been lingering within the implementation of the industry.