.jpg "Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan speaks during a press conference on the Emergency Ordinance in Putrajaya March 12, 2021. u00e2u20acu201d Picture by Hari Anggara")
KUALA LUMPUR, June 1 — Lawyers will be allowed to work during the nationwide ‘total lockdown’ from today until June 14 under certain limited circumstances, even though legal services are not listed as an essential service during this phase of the movement control order (MCO), law minister Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan announced today.
Citing the government’s May 30 announcement, Takiyuddin noted that legal services are not in the category of essential services during the first phase of the MCO — otherwise known as ‘total lockdown’ — from the June 1 to June 14 period.
“This means activities for legal services are not allowed throughout that period,” he said in a statement today.
He noted however that the National Security Council had yesterday taken note that physical attendance in court was still required for new prosecutions where an accused person is charged, remand orders, and various applications in criminal cases.
In line with that, Takiyuddin said the government has agreed to give exemption to enable lawyers who need to represent clients for these three types of criminal matters to be present in court.
“Permission to go to court for lawyers representing clients for these cases of New Prosecutions, Remand Orders and Various Criminal Applications can be obtained from the nearest police station,” he said, adding that lawyers are asked to refer to the standard operating procedures for legal services during the MCO period from the National Security Council.
He also confirmed that law firms that are providing legal services to companies that are in the essential services category can operate, but noted that these law firms must apply from the Ministry of International Trade and Industry for permission.
“Besides that, the government also agrees for law firms that are involved with corporate legal services and conveyancing for the essential services sector to apply for permission to operate according to the company/factory/business related to the essential services being represented.
“In relation to this, law firms that are representing these companies/factories/businesses can apply for permission to operate from the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (Miti) through the Covid-19 Intelligent Management System (CIMS) 3.0 portal,” he said.
On May 30, the federal government released the list of essential services and the type of manufacturing sectors allowed to open and continue operating during the total lockdown. Legal services or law firms were conspicuously missing from the list.
On May 30 itself, the Malaysian Bar through its secretary Shahareen Begum informed lawyers that law firms “will not be able to operate physically” during the total lockdown from June 1 to June 14, as they are not listed as essential services by the government.
“This invariably raises questions and concerns such as accessibility to law firm premises and files, complying with procedural deadlines as well as directions, since certain court matters would be conducted by virtue of the Directives. The issues have been highlighted to the Chief Justice by letter today and we are awaiting the outcome,” the Malaysian Bar had said then.
The Malaysian Bar had then said it was seeking clarification from the Prime Minister’s Department’s Legal Affairs Division on directives for law firms, and had received information that Takiyuddin who is the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Parliament and Law) would be issuing a media statement on May 31. (The announcement by Takiyuddin was made today).
On May 31, the Malaysian Bar issued another circular containing a guide by the Bar Council for law firms on preparing for an “emergency closure” during the total lockdown period.
The May 31 circular outlined six steps to activate an emergency closure plan for law firms, including informing clients that the office would be closed from June 1 to June 14 and also providing contact details and explaining how deadlines for the client’s files would be managed.
The steps also include keeping a list of active and closed files together with details such as their status and important deadlines, identifying critical dates for files and categorising them according to priority, backing up information in computers and servers at the office to external drives in a location away from the office, securing the safety and security of the law firm, and ensuring the safekeeping of important documents and cheque books and not leaving cash at the law firm.
The total lockdown nationwide was announced on May 28 by the Prime Minister’s Office.
On May 29, the Chief Registrar’s Office of the Federal Court of Malaysia announced that the chief justice had issued a directive effective from June 1 on court cases, including the directive that all hearings for civil and criminal cases that involve physical attendance at courts would be postponed, while online hearing for civil cases can continue and case management for both civil and criminal cases are to be done online.
Among other things, the May 29 announcement had also said the filing of new civil and criminal cases and appeals and documents can still be done online.
It had also said new prosecutions, applications for remand orders and applications for various criminal orders are to be done through physical attendance in court, while applications in criminal matters that have to be conducted through physical attendance at the superior courts due to exceptional circumstances would be subject to the courts’ discretion.
In another announcement on May 31 from the judiciary, the chief justice was announced to have given a directive effective from June 1 on certain exemptions on court timelines to lawyers in courts throughout Malaysia without the lawyers having to apply for extension of time, but with lawyers to comply with the timelines within 14 days of the end of MCO or within 14 days of any government order allowing legal services to operate during the MCO.
As for cases involving urgent applications, lawyers are also allowed to submit affidavits that have yet to be sworn, but are also required to complete such affidavits within 14 days of the end of MCO or within 14 days of any government order allowing legal services to operate during the MCO.
For online hearings that require original documents to be produced physically to the courts, the courts can also direct lawyers to produce the original documents within the same 14-day timeframe.
