Dear Members and Pupils in Chambers,

RE: MEETING WITH PENGARAH LOWER COURTS IPOH TO DISCUSS ISSUES RAISED BY MEMBERS IN RESPECT OF CIVIL AND CRIMINAL LAW PRACTICE 

We refer to the above matter.

The Perak Bar Committee had a meeting with the YBrs. Tuan Meor Sulaiman bin Ahmad Tarmizi, the Pengarah of the Lower Courts together with the Puan Ainul Shahrin binti Mohamad, the Sessions Court Judge in charge of criminal matters, Puan Norhayati binti Mohamad Yunus, the Sessions Court Judge in charge of civil matters and its officers on 5.5.2026 to address some of the issues / complaints raised by our members which the Perak Bar collated and submitted for discussion by letter dated 30.4.2026.

In the said meeting both sides raised issues of common interest to ensure that the proceedings in the Lower Courts continues to proceed smoothly and in compliance with the law. Herein below, we set out the issues raised and the consensus reached. As some matters bordered on judicial discretion during trial or hearing, we could only highlight the issues raised and requested that some flexibility be exercised by the judicial officers.

1. The need for physical presence of lawyers to enter judgement in default

As regards the above in the light of the ongoing Middle East crisis and the limit on subsidized petrol of 200 liters person per month we requested that, if possible, a directive be issued to all lower courts in Perak that physical presence of lawyers to enter judgement in default be dispensed with unless absolutely necessary. However, we were informed that all the courts are still bound by the Practice Direction No. 2 of 2025 issued by the previous Chief Judge of Malaya which requires physical presence and it has not been revoked. As such the Pengarah informed he is unable to issue a written directive to the courts for the dispensation requested.

However, if there are any courts still requesting physical attendance of lawyers to enter default judgement (unless absolutely necessary), members can inform the Perak Bar and the matter can be taken up on a case-by-case basis with the Pengarah. However, we were informed that the Lower Courts in Ipoh generally do not require physical presence. Take note that judgements in default will only be entered any time after 11.00 am on the case management date before ensuring the defendant is not present in court.

[NOTE: The above matter was also raised during the courtesy call with the Judges of the Ipoh High court and their officers held on 14.4.2026 at the Perak Bar Secretariat and consensus was reached that physical presence of lawyers will not be generally required unless absolutely necessary.]

2. The lack of Mandarin or Cantonese speaking interpreters in Kampar and Taiping Magistrate Court 

We raised that the lack of a permanent Mandarin or Cantonese speaking interpreters in the above two courts prevents, in particular criminal matters being disposed of on the first date of it being call up. The Pengarah of the Lower Courts fully understands the predicament but lamented that it is a national problem. However, the Pengarah stated that they will endeavour to make arrangements to send the required interpreters from the nearest court in the hope that it will at least shorten the case disposal time. We were notified that there will a fresh intake of interpreters in the month of August or September this year.

3. Request for the geographical jurisdiction of the Lower Courts in Perak 

Although the above request was first made by Perak Bar by letter dated 23.5.2025 we were assured that the list containing the above details is still in progress and will be out by end of this month. Upon receipt, the same will be circulated to members for ease of filing courts documents.

4. Issues pertaining to refund of deposits in in execution matters

The numerous problems faced by members in obtaining refund of deposits in execution matters have been raised by the Perak Bar consistently since 2024 with the current as well as the previous Pengarah of the Lower Courts. We raised the issue by submitting details of cases still pending refund of deposit (that which was provided to us) and highlighted that the entire refund process is flawed on the following grounds: –

      i) there is no uniformity in the application process as well the in the processing of the refund by the court;

     ii) there is no system or structure in place to keep the members informed of the progress of the refund necessitating the lawyers having to make repeated calls;

     iii) inordinate delay in making the refund;

     iv) even though the original receipt is provided the lawyer is still required to affirm a statutory declaration that the original receipt is lost; and

     v) requesting for documents that were not issued by court in the first place.

According to the court there are about 200 files pending refund in Perak but the Pengarah together with the Penolong Kanan Pendaftar in charge has assured that they will look into it and if need be, a task force will be set up with the Perak Bar to solve this problem. In the meantime, we urge members to write reminders and follow up with the Lower Court Registry so that we can take it up in the meetings to follow.

5. The status of Batu Gajah and Manjung Sessions Court

We raised the issue of the status of the above two courts with the Pengarah as to whether any Practice Directions were issued when the above two courts were created. The Pengarah said he will check and revert.

6. Uncleared Cheques 

The only issue raised by the Judiciary was as regards uncleared cheques issued by several legal firms in Perak before the E-filing system was implemented which. Although the court was not been to state the reason why the cheques remain uncleared till to date but they sought the assistance of the Perak Bar to request the legal firms concern to pay up the outstanding sums. The Perak Bar has requested further details before writing to the legal firm’s concern. In the meantime, if any firm had received a notice requesting payment kindly attend to it.

Regards,

S. V. NAMASOO
Chairman
Courts Liaison & Civil Practice