Legal Updates

Shipping and international trade have been at the forefront of global attention in the first half of 2025, particularly amidst the uncertainty arising from the announcement of tariffs to be imposed by the United States of America against a wide swath of nations (including those located in the Southeast Asian region), a dramatic hike in fees to be imposed against Chinese-owned or operated vessels, and reciprocal actions proposed to be taken by a number of governments. Against the backdrop of such upheaval, governments have been seeking to strengthen their respective maritime law frameworks, undertaking amendments to their respective shipping laws and introducing new regulations

The Securities Commission Malaysia has released a public consultation paper proposing significant amendments to the Guidelines on Recognised Markets, with concentrated reforms focusing on the governance and operations of Digital Asset Exchanges in Malaysia.

The right to claim “constructive dismissal” refers to the right of an employee to terminate his contract if the employer has committed a breach that goes to the “root” or foundation of the contract, or if the employer demonstrated an intention to no longer be bound by the contract (this is known as the “contract test”).

An amalgamation or reconstruction of companies under sections 366 and 370 of the Companies Act 2016 is a common tool for corporate restructuring in Malaysia.

In a significant regulatory milestone, Malaysia has recently introduced a new suite of legislations aimed at institutionalising energy efficiency and conservation within the broader national energy transition agenda.

In March 2025, the Parliament passed the Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage Bill 2025 (“CCUS Act”). The CCUS Act aims to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, mitigate the effects of climate change, and promote the development of the carbon capture, utilisation, and storage industry as a new source of economic growth.

The Malaysian Federal Court in the case of Asian International Arbitration Centre v One Amerin Residence Sdn Bhd & Ors And Another Appeal [2025] 3 MLRA 83 held that the Asian International Arbitration Centre (“AIAC”) is immune from judicial review of acts and decisions made by AIAC in its capacity as the domestic and statutory adjudication authority under the Construction Industry Payment & Adjudication Act 2012.

On 28 March 2025, the Malaysian Court of Appeal in the case of Republic of Zimbabwe v. Elisabeth Regina Maria Gabriele Von Pezold & Ors [unreported] unanimously upheld the decision of the Kuala Lumpur High Court to recognise and enforce a foreign arbitral award (“ICSID Arbitral Award”) rendered under the Convention on the Settlement of Investment Disputes between States and Nationals of Other States as if the ICSID Arbitral Award is a judgment made by the Malaysian High Court.

Following from our previous Legal Update setting out our analysis on the latest amendments to the Personal Data Protection Act 2010 pursuant to the Personal Data Protection (Amendment) Act 2024, and our Legal Update on the launch of the Personal Data Protection Guidelines for Data Protection Officer Appointment and Mandatory Data Breach Notification, the Personal Data Protection Commissioner has just launched the Personal Data Protection Guideline on Cross Border Data Transfers.

The first quarter of 2025 has seen much upheaval in the global economic sphere.

The Energy Commission has recently published the Guidelines on Electric Vehicle Charging System (EVCS) on 24 February 2025.

The Personal Data Protection Commissioner has issued three public consultation papers on 20 March 2025 to seek feedback on these guidelines that will be issued under the Personal Data Protection Act 2010: (i) Data Protection Impact Assessment Guideline; (ii) the Data Protection by Design Guideline; and (iii) Automated Decision Making and Profiling Guideline.

Following the Government’s recent announcement on several enhancements to the Corporate Renewable Energy Supply Scheme (CRESS), the Energy Commission has recently published the revised Guidelines for Corporate Renewable Energy Supply Scheme, which came into effect on 1 March 2025.

In the recent case of Siemens Industry Software Inc v KB Engineering Coatings Sdn Bhd [2024] MLJU 2638, an employee’s unlicensed use of software led to allegations of vicarious liability against his employer.

Following the market’s reaction to the rising costs of compliance with the requirements under the initial Guidelines for Solar Photovoltaic Installation for Self-Consumption in Peninsular Malaysia issued on 1 January 2025, the Energy Commission has recently published the revised Guidelines for Solar Photovoltaic Installation for Self-Consumption in Peninsular Malaysia (“Updated Guidelines”) on 27 March 2025.

This update highlights the key changes introduced by the Updated Guidelines, including the introduction of additional exemptions from the requirement to install a battery energy storage system, and amendments to the threshold and quantum of the standby charge for solar photovoltaic system installations.

The Malaysia Competition Commission (“MyCC”) has, in early March 2025, published an Interim Report on the Market Review of the Digital Economy Ecosystem (“Interim Report”) following its latest market review exercise on the digital economy ecosystem in Malaysia. MyCC deep dived into the following four sub-sectors in the Interim Report:

The second half of 2024 saw much activity in the shipping and international trade industry.

Following from our previous Legal Update setting out our analysis on the latest amendments to the Personal Data Protection Act 2010 pursuant to the Personal Data Protection (Amendment) Act 2024, the Personal Data Protection Commissioner has just launched two personal data protection guidelines on 25 February 2025.

Intellectual property (“IP”) is an area of law that is in constant development. With the continually evolving nature of IP rights and the changing needs of IP enforcement, both domestic and international IP frameworks are having to update themselves to keep up with shifting practical and economic forces.

Happy 2025! We are pleased to present the latest edition of our Regional Competition Bites, which looks back at the fourth quarter of 2024.

In our previous Legal Update, we provided a brief overview of the recent developments and key legislative changes in the technology, media and telecommunications & data protection (TMT) space in Malaysia.

Introduction Following our previous Legal Update, the Online Safety Bill 2024 (“Bill“), which aims to promote online safety in Malaysia

简介 随着马来西亚继续加强其在区域数字经济中的领先地位，投资、贸易及工业部 (MITI) 最近发布了 数据中心可持续发展指南（”指南“），为马来西亚可持续数据中心的开发和运营提供了框架。 这符合马来西亚政府推出的数字生态系统加速计划 (“DESAC“)。DESAC旨在通过向在马来西亚投资数字项目的公司提供税收优惠并营造有利于数字化转型的环境来加强马来西亚的数字基础设施并吸引高质量投资。 指南的目标 指南旨在概述最佳实践和监管标准，以确保数据中心高性能且环保。指南列出了以下目标： 通过吸引可持续数据中心组织的投资，将马来西亚定位为东南亚的数据中心枢纽； 进一步释放各组织在设计和运营节能数据中心方面的能力； 加速使用可再生或洁净能源，为数据中心的运营提供低碳能源；以及 鼓励创新，提高数据中心设计和运营中的用水效率。 取得可持续数据中心的地位 指南列出了以下在马来西亚取得可持续数据中心的地位的衡量因素: 电力使用效率 Power Usage Effectiveness (“PUE”)：数据中心总能耗与信息技术设备能耗在同一时期内计算、测量或评估的比率。数据中心的所有者/开发商/运营商（”组织“）需要根据国际标准

The Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone (“JS-SEZ”) represents a strategic initiative aimed at transforming the border region between Malaysia’s Johor state and Singapore into a premier economic hub.

On 24 December 2024, the Digital Minister published the official dates for the coming into operation of the Personal Data Protection (Amendment) Act 2024, which was passed by the Malaysian Parliament earlier this year.

The technology, media and telecommunications & data protection (“TMT”) space in Malaysia recently witnessed a flurry of legislative developments during the recently concluded October – December 2024 parliamentary session for the lower house of the Malaysian Parliament (i.e., the House of Representatives).

The Kuala Lumpur High Court recently dismissed an application for a judicial management order and in its decision introduced procedural safeguards to prevent the abuse of the judicial management process.

The Ministry of Energy Transition and Water Transformation (PETRA), through the Energy Commission (EC), has launched an open bidding program for the acquisition of Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) capacity through the Request for Qualification (RFQ) process.

The construction industry is a complex web of contracts, schedules, and payments, all of which require careful management to keep projects on track, and there is always a risk that disputes can quickly spiral out of control.

建筑行业是一个包含合同、进度和付款的复杂行业，这些都需要谨慎管理以确保项目的稳定进展。这行业随之而来的风险是一旦任何一方与另一方发生争议，正在进行的项目可能会迅速失控并停滞。

We are pleased to present our 3rd Regional Competition Bites for 2024.

The Personal Data Protection (Amendment) Bill 2024, which was passed by the Malaysian Parliament earlier in July, has received royal assent and has been published in the Federal Gazette as the Personal Data Protection (Amendment) Act 2024 on 17 October 2024.

Following the announcement by the Ministry of Energy Transition and Water Transformation in July 2024, the Energy Commission of Malaysia recently launched the much-anticipated Guidelines for Corporate Renewable Energy Supply Scheme.

On 31 July 2024, the Malaysian Parliament passed the long-awaited Personal Data Protection (Amendment) Bill 2024, tabled by Digital Minister Gobind Singh.

Following the Malaysian Parliament’s passing of the Personal Data Protection (Amendment) Bill 2024 on 31 July 2024, the Personal Data Protection Commissioner has issued three public consultation papers to seek feedback on upcoming guidelines that will supplement changes introduced by the Amendment Bill.

The Cyber Security Act 2024 (Act 854) has come into force on 26 August 2024.

Under section 11 of the Competition Act 2010, the Malaysia Competition Commission may conduct a review into any market in order to determine whether any feature or combination of features of the market prevents, restricts or distorts competition in the market.

On 31 July 2024, the Senate (or Dewan Negara) approved the Personal Data Protection (Amendment) Bill 2024, which was introduced by the Digital Minister Gobind Singh earlier in July.

On 27 July 2024, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission announced that a new licensing requirement will be imposed on the providers of “social media services” and “internet messaging services” in Malaysia

After much anticipation, the Government of Malaysia (through the Ministry of Energy Transition and Water Transformation) had, on 26 July 2024, announced the introduction of the Corporate Renewable Energy Supply Scheme.

On 10 July 2024, Digital Minister Gobind Singh tabled the long-awaited Personal Data Protection (Amendment) Bill 2024 for its first reading before the Dewan Rakyat (or House of Representatives).

Digital Minister, Gobind Singh, has announced that the Cabinet has approved the proposed amendments to the Personal Data Protection Act 2010.

Data centres have seen a boom due the world’s growing reliance on cloud-based technology and consumption of online content.

Following the coming into force of the amendments to the Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994 (“OSHA”), and the Occupational Safety and Health (Plant Requiring Certificate of Fitness) Regulations 2024 and the Occupational Safety and Health (Licensed Person) Order 2024, on 1 June 2024, the Minister of Human Resources has further made two new regulations under the OSHA, one of which is the Occupational Safety and Health (Construction Work) (Design and Management) Regulations 2024.

On 31 May 2024, the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation, with the support of the Ministry of Digital and the Ministry of Finance, has introduced a new outcome-based tax incentive scheme for eligible Malaysia Digital Status (formerly known as Multimedia Super Corridor Status) companies.

The Guide for Cross-Border Electricity Sales (“CBES Guide”) was first issued by the Energy Commission on 31 December 2020 to facilitate the cross-border electricity sales between Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore or Thailand. The CBES Guide was revised on 25 October 2021, imposing prohibition of export of renewable energy to Singapore.

The Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994 establishes the legal framework relating to the occupational safety and health in Malaysia.

Following the announcement by the Ministry of Energy Transition and Water Transformation (“PETRA”) in January 2024, the Energy Commission had on 1 April 2024 issued the following documents (in Bahasa Malaysia) relating to the fifth competitive bidding round for the Large Scale Solar (“LSS”) programme, also known as LSS-Peralihan Tenaga SuRiA (LSS PETRA),

On 27 March 2024, the Ministry of Energy Transition and Water Transformation announced a special incentive known as the Solar for Rakyat Incentive Scheme (“SolaRIS”).

On 25 March 2024, the long-awaited Cyber Security Bill 2024 (“Bill”) was tabled in Parliament by the Minister of Digital, Gobind Singh Deo

On 26 January 2024, the Ministry of Energy Transition and Water Transformation (PETRA) has introduced the new Low Carbon Energy Generation Programme as one of the Government’s initiatives in achieving the goals outlined in National Energy Transition Roadmap.

The High Court at Kuala Lumpur, in the first-ever decision of its kind, recognised a foreign award made by an arbitral tribunal under the Convention on the Settlement of Investment Disputes between States and Nationals of Other States.

The field of intellectual property (“IP”) has been a hive of activity in the past year. With blockchain and artificial

Malaysia makes promising moves towards achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, in line with global roadmap goals which is in turn embedded in the National Energy Transition Roadmap (NETR).

The Asian International Arbitration Centre (“AIAC”) regularly revises its arbitration rules to keep up-to-date with modern arbitration practice. On 24 August 2023, the AIAC Arbitration Rules 2023 came into effect.

Most jurisdictions worldwide uphold the concept of open justice, with court proceedings generally being conducted in public by default. Conversely, arbitral proceedings and associated documents are generally subject to the principle of confidentiality, with parties to the arbitration prohibited from disclosing details of the arbitration to third parties.

Court proceedings are subject to the principle of open justice. This principle allows the public to not only observe hearings and trials in court, but also to access court filings and obtain information such as the identities of parties. In contrast, confidentiality stands as a key advantage of arbitration over litigation.

On 1 June 2023, the Central Bank of Malaysia, Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM), issued an updated version of its Policy

Part 2 of the NETR was announced on 29 August 2023, which was essentially an introduction of the NETR in full and an introduction of, among others, the six levers and five enablers needed for the country’s energy transition.

The Regional Competition Bites Q2 2023 – we here share various legislative and regulatory developments across Southeast Asia. Numerous developments

The National Energy Transition Roadmap (“NETR“) was launched on 27 July 2023 by the Ministry of Economy of Malaysia, setting

Recently, the Kuala Lumpur High Court in Government of Malaysia v Inoapps Sdn Bhd [2022] MLJU 2280 held that while

Since 2018, continuous efforts have been made by the Malaysian Government to review and update the Personal Data Protection Act

Following the teasers in the announcement by the Prime Minister of Malaysia in August 2022 and the launch of the

On 5 October 2022, the UK Supreme Court delivered its long-awaited judgment in BTI 2014 LLC v. Sequana SA and

Since the introduction of the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001 (“AMLATFPUAA“), the Government has

The National Energy Policy 2022 – 2040 was launched by the Prime Minister of Malaysia on 19 September 2022.

Letters of credit attempt to address a wariness in sellers and buyers of goods in international sales. That wariness may

In 2019, the Department of Personal Data Protection (“JPDP“) issued the Public Consultation Paper on the Review of the Personal

On 4 July 2022, the Government of Malaysia launched a new digital economy initiative, Malaysia Digital (“Malaysia Digital Initiative“), which

The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Content Code (“Content Code“), which was first introduced in September 2004, outlines procedures for self-regulation

The franchise industry in Malaysia is governed by the Franchise Act 1998 (“the 1998 Act“) which regulates, among others, the

Online gambling has been increasing in popularity over the past few years in Malaysia, especially during and after the pandemic.

Indonesia’s month-long ban on the export of thermal coal in January 2022 to satisfy the demands of the domestic market;

What is a geographical indication (“GI“)? A GI is essentially a sign or geographical term used on products for the

On 25 April 2022, the Malaysia Competition Commission (“MyCC“) issued for public consultation, salient points of its proposed amendments to

Insider trading has received increased regulatory scrutiny in the Malaysian market over the past decade, posing several important questions for

The Patents (Amendment) Bill 2021 was passed by the House of Representatives (Dewan Rakyat) and the Senate (Dewan Negara) in

Insider trading has received increased regulatory scrutiny in the Malaysian market over the past decade, posing several important questions for

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the imperative for greater compliance with Environmental, Social and Governance (“ESG“) standards has

The Personal Data Protection Act 2010 (“PDPA“) is the main legislation which regulates the processing of personal data in the

Under the Income Tax Act 1967 (“ITA“), the Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia (“IRB“) has broad powers and tools to

On 24 December 2021, the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities (Invocation of Part IV) Order 2021

In the recent decision of the Malaysian High Court in Re Top Builders Capital Bhd & Ors [2022] MLJU 1,

In 2018, the Malaysian Government announced its intention to carry out a comprehensive review and to update the Personal Data

Recognising the characteristics of climate-related risks, Bank Negara Malaysia (“BNM”) has issued the Exposure Draft on Climate Risk Management and

The Asian International Arbitration Centre (“AIAC“) published its Arbitration Rules 2021 (“2021 Rules“) for public consultation in June 2021.

In line with one of the initiatives set out in the Malaysia Digital Economy (MyDIGITAL) Blueprint to shift towards a

The Hague Rules impose minimum duties on commercial carriers of goods by sea. The Hague Rules have been – for

There has been great anticipation over the past few years on the proposed amendments to be made to the existing Employment Act 1955 (“Act”) in Malaysia. The Employment (Amendment) Bill 2021 (“Bill”) to amend the Act was tabled in Parliament for first reading on 25 October 2021.

Cross-border electricity trade is one of the means for effective utilisation of regional energy resources. It enables the demands of a region to be met in a cost-efficient manner. It creates opportunities for diverse natural resources to be utilised to meet the sustainability goals of individual countries.

The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Content Code (“Content Code”) was first introduced and registered with Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (“MCMC”) on 1 September 2004.

When drafting indemnities and guarantees, parties should take heed of the differences between the two.

In the recent decision of the Malaysian High Court in Re Top Builders Capital Bhd & Ors [2021] 10 MLJ 327 (“Top Builders”), Ong Chee Kwan JC examines the proof of debt exercise in a scheme of arrangement (“SOA”) and the guiding principles governing the granting of leave to proceed with legal proceedings against a financially distressed company that has obtained a restraining order (moratorium) pursuant to a SOA.

There is a growing recognition globally that healthy capital markets require an effective regime for financial reporting. Disclosures in a listed company’s financial statements provide critical information relating to the company’s affairs and for this reason, the law has clear provisions addressing the disclosure of false or misleading information to the regulators and the public.

Almost every other day on various platforms, we receive feeds and articles on the importance of putting in place Environmental, Social and Governance (“ESG”) policies that contribute towards ethical and responsible way of carrying on business, with the golden mantra on being ‘sustainable’.

On 24 March 2021, the Federal Court in Crystal Crown Hotel & Resort Sdn Bhd (Crystal Crown Hotel Petaling Jaya) v Kesatuan Kebangsaan Pekerja-pekerja Hotel, Bar & Restoran Semenanjung Malaysia (Civil Appeal No. 02(f)-4-01 of 2018) ruled that the hoteliers cannot utilise the service charge imposed on bills to customers to meet the statutory minimum wage of their employees.

In Ken Grouting Sdn Bhd v RKT Nusantara Sdn Bhd and another appeal [2020] MLJU 1901, the Malaysian Court of Appeal dealt with the issue of an arbitrator’s failure to deliver the arbitral award within the specified timeline, and whether this resulted in a loss of the arbitrator’s jurisdictional mandate.

Malaysians are currently bracing for a new phase of the COVID-19 pandemic and the government is stepping up efforts to encourage Malaysians to be vaccinated in phases. Efforts have been made by the government to secure adequate doses of vaccination with the aim of achieving herd immunity.

The Malaysia Competition Commission (“MyCC”) recently issued a decision imposing a fine of RM10.3 million against Dagang Net Technologies Sdn Bhd (“Dagang Net”) for abuse of dominance.

The Malaysia Anti-Corruption Commission (“MACC”) has charged a company providing ship rental services under Section 17A of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2009. This is the first charge under Section 17A, which came into force on 1 June 2020.

In a landmark decision ruling on 28 July 2020, Justice Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali sitting in the High Court found former premier Datuk Seri Najib Razak (“DS Najib”) guilty of seven charges of abuse of power, criminal breach of trust and money laundering in relation to RM42 million belonging to SRC International Sdn Bhd (“SRC”).

Last month, the Federal Court in the case of Peguam Negara Malaysia v Mkini Dotcom Sdn Bhd & Another (Case No. 08(L)-4-06/2020) found Mkini Dot Com Sdn Bhd, the owner and operator of the Malaysian online news portal ‘Malaysiakini’ (“Malaysiakini”), guilty of contempt of court in relation to third-party comments that were posted on Malaysiakini’s website.

The Energy Commission of Malaysia has, on 12 March 2021, announced the list of shortlisted bidders (i.e. winners) of its fourth competitive bidding programme for development of large scale solar power plants (dubbed the LSS@MEnTARI and generally referred to by the industry as LSS4).

This article seeks to shed light on the efficacy of the Whistleblower Protection Act 2010 in Malaysia in improving corporate governance.

On 19 February 2021, the Federal Court in the case of Peguam Negara Malaysia v Mkini Dotcom Sdn Bhd & Another (Case No. 08(L)-4-06/2020) held in a 6-1 decision that Mkini Dot Com Sdn Bhd, the owner and operator of the Malaysian online news portal ‘Malaysiakini’ (“Malaysiakini”), was liable for contempt of court in relation to third-party comments that were posted on Malaysiakini’s website.

The Licensing Framework for Digital Banks policy document (“Licensing Framework”) was issued by Bank Negara Malaysia (“BNM”) on 31 December 2020, together with a set of Frequently Asked Questions (“FAQ”).

The Industrial Relations Act 1967 (“IRA”) is a piece of social legislation aimed to promote and maintain industrial harmony and regaulte the relations between employers and workmen and their trade unions.