Changes to witness protection law to be tabled in June

 

Several bills, including the Witness Protection (Amendment) Bill, are expected to be tabled in the next Parliament sitting in June.

Other bills to be tabled include the Cross-Border Insolvency Act 2025; the Legal Aid and Public Defence Act 2025, which will replace the Legal Aid Act 1971; and the Mediation (Amendment) Act 2025.

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Azalina Othman Said told reporters this at an Aidilfitri celebration organised by the Legal Affairs Division of the Prime Minister’s Department in Putrajaya today.

The minister said she had been to Asean member countries to meet with their respective law and justice ministers to obtain relevant input on the Cross-Border Insolvency Bill.

“With the existence of the Asean Law Forum, we want to get commitment from Asean countries,” she added.

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In another development, she said the government had studied more than 2,000 outdated laws to ensure that they remain relevant with time, including involving the element of digital signatures under the Contract Act.

"I give an example of the issue of contract law where we now use a lot of digital signatures, the contract law that we have sometimes cannot cover the digital aspect comprehensively," she said, adding that about 164 other outdated laws have yet to be studied.

- Bernama