Has the Federal Court ended the ‘Recovery Action’ and the ‘insurable interest defence’ in Malaysian Motor Insurance Law?

Should innocent accident victims be forced into costly legal battles twice—once against the driver and again, [by what has come to be known as a ‘Recovery Action’] against the insurer? How did Malaysia’s Federal Court in the 2022 Saamran decision demolish 70 years of established insurance practice? How did it revolutionise third-party victim compensation?

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Did the Malaysian Federal Court in AmGeneral v Sa’Amran revolutionise motor insurance law? [Saamran: 1/11]

There are more private cars on Malaysia’s roads than there are Malaysians to drive them. In one consolidated judgment of eight appeals, the Federal Court in Sa’Amran rebuilt the law that governs what happens when one of them causes harm — and decided, point after point, that the victim comes first. This is the gateway to a ten-part series.

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Nine judges, two years, one crisis: Malaysia’s path between Judicial collapse and Constitutional Renewal

Malaysia's judiciary teeters on the brink. An institutional crisis looms—potentially as devastating as 1988's judicial catastrophe—threatening constitutional governance and the rule of law itself. Nine Federal Court judges departing within two years represents far more than administrative upheaval: it's a catastrophic haemorrhaging of judicial wisdom, precisely when institutional memory matters most. We should never have come to this pass. Left unchecked, this depletion spells disaster for the nation. Which path will Malaysia ...

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What Happened During the Malaysian Judicial Crisis in 1988?

In 1988, a tremor rent Malaysia’s halls of justice: an institutional earthquake that cleaved its very bedrock. Constitutional pillars crumbled; and the Beacon that once burned bright for Justice flickered, and then, died. Sacred robes, woven with centuries of honour, lay torn in the rubble. The Unthinkable carved its wound into the very beating heart of the Constitution. Here sleep the lasting memories of those who fell, shields raised against the ...

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Is a prime minister immune from civil suits?

Do you remember an essay I wrote in 2018? The one that argued that a former PM enjoyed no immunity from criminal prosecution? Stand that principle on its head. Is a prime minister immune from a civil suit, [e.g. a suit for breach of contract to buy a property]? What if she did enjoy such an immunity? What would happen?

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The Promise and the Perils of Artificial Intelligence in Court Work

Artificial Intelligence flows through the hallowed halls of justice as the morning mist—pervasive, transformative, and unstoppable. Courts and lawyers alike should embrace AI — with wisdom, not fear. Frost reminds us, “The best way out is always through.” No machine can ever match the human soul's eternal quest for justice. That fire burns beyond all programming.

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