Farhash, 2 others file RM10m defamation suit against MalaysiaNow
Court documents sighted by Malaysiakini found that the suit was filed by Messrs Ahmad Deniel, Ruben & Co at the Shah Alam High Court on July 30.
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Datuks, doctors among owners of RM10mil luxury cars seized over unpaid road tax
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Legal Aid and Public Defence Bill tabled tabled at Dewan Rakyat
KUALA LUMPUR: The Legal Aid and Public Defence Bill 2025 that aims to improve justice for the masses, a crucial element of the legal reform agenda, has been tabled for the first reading at the Dewan Rakyat. The Bill was tabled by Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said at the Dewan Rakyat on Thursday (Aug 21). The Bill contains 73 clauses and seeks to reform legal aid services in Malaysia by repealing the Legal Aid Act and replacing it with the proposed Bill. Under the proposed law, legal aid services in Malaysia will be renamed as public defence services and two new roles will be introduced – Chief Public Defender and public defender officer. According to the Bill, any person may be appointed as the Director General or the Chief Public Defender if they have the recognised law academic qualification and the practical skills, knowledge and experience in advocacy and litigation. The proposed Bill also expands legal companion services to all children regardless of nationality and citizenship. Clauses 7 to 11 provide the responsibilities of a Director General or the Chief Public Defender to the aided accused. Clause 12 seeks to ban any aided person from terminating the public defence service provided by any assigned solicitor without the permission of the Director General or the Chief Public Defender. Under Clause 13 of the Bill, any person qualified to offer legal aid services has to pay a fee, to be decided by the minister, to the Director General. The fee will be deposited in a trust account and all monies kept there can only be used for legal aid and public defence administration purposes. Clause 15(2) of the proposed law states that legal aid can only be provided to Malaysians, except under special circumstances allowed by the minister to uphold justice. Clause 27 seeks to allow the Director General to require the aided person in civil or syariah proceedings to pay a contribution to be decided by the minister. Excess payment, not exceeding 25% of the contribution, will be refunded to the aided person within six months upon the termination of their legal aid certificate. Under Clause 30, the Director General can request any aided person to advance a sum of money to cover any unexpected expenses. Clause 31 states that if the money ordered by the court is less than RM10,000, the aided person is not liable to make any payment to the Director General as advocacy costs. If the money ordered by the court is more than RM10,000, the aided person must pay the Director General 25% of the amount ordered but not exceeding RM10,000 as advocacy costs. If the aided person is to receive any property valued at more than RM10,000, then the person must pay the Director General an amount exceeding 10% of the property value as advocacy costs. If the court affirms an award granted by a quasi-judicial body, the aided person must pay the Director General an amount not exceeding 10% of the award as the advocacy costs. Under the proposed law, the Director General may appoint a lawyer for a child who is a victim of a crime, regardless of the child's nationality and citizenship. Clause 36 also states that the Director General may, in the interest of justice, provide legal assistance to a person above 18 years old if that person is a victim of any crime in any proceeding and is still a child when the proceedings commenced. Meanwhile, Clauses 43 to 51 deal with the scope of mediation services and state that no settlement or agreement reached in a mediation session shall be binding to the parties or enforceable in court unless the settlement or agreement is reduced into writing and signed by all involved parties. Clause 64 seeks to enable courts to order the aided person to pay costs to any affected person if the aided person had obtained legal aid through fraud or misrepresentation, or committed any acts that may prejudice the interest of justice. Clause 71 allows the minister to suspend legal aid services for a reasonable period on grounds of public interest. The Legal Aid and Public Defence Bill 2025 is expected to be tabled for second reading before the end of the current meeting on Aug 28.
