New normal: Malaysian Judiciary creates history

The Malaysian Judiciary made history today when it broadcast live proceedings of a case at the Court of Appeal online for the first time.

The appeal proceedings which began at 10 am was broadcast live on the website of the office of the Chief Registrar Federal Court of Malaysia and the official YouTube channel of the Malaysian Judiciary.

The hearing of the appeal involved three appellants, Zhoa Fangliang, Jin Haifang and Zhu Cunhua against a transport company Satu Hati Sdn Bhd.

The appellants were represented by Messrs. K. F. Ee & Co while the respondent was represented by Messrs. Othman Hashim & Co.

The proceedings were conducted by a three-panel Appeals Court judges Datuk Kamardin Hashim, Datuk Lee Swee Seng and Datuk Azizah Nawawi.

At the beginning of the proceedings, Kamardin presented the basis of the proceedings in addition to obtaining the consent of both parties for it to be broadcast online.

It seeks to avoid the issue of the Court of Justice Act 1964 which has not been amended to allow live broadcasts of proceedings.

The office of the Chief Registrar of Federal Court of Malaysia had earlier announced the move to enable the public to follow live the hearing of cases similar to open court and ensure access to justice continues.

It is in line with the COVID-19 pandemic situation and the government-enforced Movement Control Order (MCO) order that requires the Malaysian Judiciary to proceed with the hearing of specific cases online.

Since the MCO was enforced on March 18, the courts have been able to hear remand applications, prosecution of new cases, criminal case applications, review of lower court decisions and normal case management.