January-June 2019
Our third edition of encyCLOpedia covers a spectrum of legal developments and greater insight on existing laws.
In light of Grab's acquisition of Uber's business across the Southeast Asia region, Competition Commissions across the region took action to limit the potential uncompetitive impact of the acquisition. In Malaysia however, Malaysia Competition Commission's ("MyCC’s") limited powers in the realm of merger controls has resulted in a lack of concrete action against Grab. MyCC has nevertheless alluded to the introduction of an economy-wide merger control regime under the Competition Act since then, and this article seeks to discuss the features of a merger control regime.
Next up, we discuss on the Federal Court's findings in the recent land scam case of Rajamani. The apex court in the ground-breaking decision held that a replacement title in continuation that was issued in the name of the original owner of the land is not void ab initio (from the beginning) notwithstanding that the land registry had been duped into issuing it – and such replacement title in continuation remains valid and capable of passing the title to the land to a subsequent purchaser in good faith and for valuable consideration. The next article sets out the main tenets for homebuyers and property investors in Malaysia to take note of. Specifically, we share an overview of the types of land ownership, foreign investment restrictions in real property and the applicable real property taxes in Malaysia.
On combating fake news, the Malaysian Parliament enacted the rather controversial Anti-Fake News Act 2018 ("AFNA") just ahead of the 2018 general elections. The hasty timing and broad nature of the AFNA generated public outcry, and the public's dissatisfactions are not unfounded. As it stands, it is unclear whether editorial errors, political satire or critical social commentary would be considered as fake news. Against this backdrop, Anissa, our partner specialising in Media and Entertainment, shares a critical analysis of the legislative development of the AFNA, the risks of fake news to organisations, and wraps up with thought-provoking ramifications of fake news and the need to create an effective risk management strategy.
To conclude this issue, we provide a 101 on the key rights and benefits of employees protected under the Employment Act 1955. This is relevant for employers when formulating business budgets as the cost of hiring an employee frequently costs more than the basic salary paid out each month!