We have previously issued an Alert on 30 March 2020 as to the effects of the Movement Control Order (“MCO”) on court proceedings. Our earlier Alert is available here.
 
On 10 April 2020, Malaysia’s Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin announced that the MCO will be extended by another two weeks from 15 April 2020 to 28 April 2020 in order to curb the spread of Covid-19. This is the second extension of the MCO.
 
A directive recently issued by the Chief Registrar of the Federal Court dated 10 April 2020 states that the Chief Registrar’s previous directions will continue to be in force for the duration of the extended MCO Order until 28 April 2020. Thus, the position in our earlier Alert continues to apply in relation to court matters including court hearings, filing of new cases and documents and leave to appeal applications during the period of the further extended MCO until 28 April 2020.
 
The courts’ efforts to ensure that the administration of justice continues during the period when the MCO remains in effect have borne fruit as a number of lawyers, including several from our Firm, have in fact conducted hearings successfully via exchange of e-mails and videoconferencing.
 
This Alert is prepared by Karen Tan Wee Sean (Associate) of Skrine.