New laws and amendments in the 11th Parliament.

Sumber / Tarikh: The Sun Online February 18, 2008 – Monday

B.Suresh Ram

PETALING JAYA (Feb 17, 2008): About 150 new laws and amendments were adopted by the 11th Parliament since it began sitting on May 17, 2004.

Here is the list of the the new laws and amendments:

2004:
> Constitution (Amendment) Bill 2004
The act saw the Dewan Rakyat increase retirement age of judges from 65 to 66.

> Chemical Weapons Convention Act 2004
Act seeks to implement the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction.

2005:
> National Heritage Act 2005
The act is a comprehensive set laws promulgated to provide conservation and preservation of National Heritage, natural heritage, tangible and intangible cultural heritage, underwater cultural heritage, treasure trove and for related matters.

> Constitution Act (Amendment) (No.2) Act 2005
The Federal Constitution was amended to increase the number of Dewan Rakyat seats to 222 following the delineation of constituencies in Sarawak in 2005.
Another amendment of the bill allowed the Chief Justice to refer a judge who commits a breach of any provision of a code of ethics to a body constituted under federal law, which also include provisions for the procedure to be followed and sanctions which can be imposed other than the removal of a judge from office.

> The Arbitration Act 2005
The act reforms the law relating to domestic arbitration, provide for international arbitration, the recognition and enforcement of awards and for related matters.

2006:
> Suruhanjaya Perkhidmatan Air Negara Act 2006
The law which drew flak from consumers, Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and even elected representatives, was adopted after a lengthy study and debate. The Suruhanjaya Perkhidmatan Air Negara (SPAN) is empowered to supervise and regulate water supply services and sewerage services and to enforce the water supply and sewerage services laws and related matters.

> Legal Profession (Amendment) 2006 Act
It reduced the controversial quorum required to conduct an annual general meeting (AGM), as well as allow junior lawyers to contest for the Bar Council elections. The Dewan Rakyat made a rare move when it amended midway through the tabling of the bill and saw the removal of Section 93(3)(d) (4D), Section 93(3)(d) (4D) which states "no act or proceedings of the Disciplinary Board shall be invalidated solely on the ground that the Malaysian Bar President or his representative has taken part in any deliberation of the Disciplinary Board relating to any complaint where the Bar Council is the complainant".

> The Electronic Commerce Act 2006
This provides legal recognition of electronic messages in commercial transactions, the use of the electronic messages to fulfill legal requirements and to enable and facilitate commercial transactions through the use of electronic means.