In the last two or three years, there have been a lot more car hijacks/kidnapping/traffic light snatch robberies in Malaysia, could it because the auto door lock feature has been taken out as standard feature ? And the bad guys are taking advantage of this !!    

Could it be the law was officially implemented in Sept1012, but directive to take out auto lock was given much earlier. Car manufacturers/distributors are only too happy to oblige to take out the feature as it saves cost, which means more profit. See how they drag their feet and give all sort of excuses and apply for exemption when asked to comply with the minimum airbags/ESP requirements.