How Much Longer Must India and Malaysia Cling to an 1872 Law of Guarantees?
Malaysia and India still let a spoken word cost you your house. Guarantee law has always adapted — so why is theirs frozen in 1872?
Read MoreMalaysia and India still let a spoken word cost you your house. Guarantee law has always adapted — so why is theirs frozen in 1872?
Read MoreWhat if the people you trust with your property quietly sell it—and then insist the contract lets them? In a Singapore case about 14 vintage cars, the court reached for a centuries‑old “ghost” of English law called bailment. Can that ghost still decide modern disputes? If you ever leave anything in someone else’s hands, you should read this essay
Read MoreFor decades, one person in Putrajaya has worn two hats. He advises the government on how to stay in power. He decides who will be prosecuted and who will quietly walk away. Does the new “AG–PP split” Bill truly cut that cord, or simply dresses old political control in the language of 'reform'? Do you know what I think?
Read MoreWill a ten‑year cap on Malaysia’s prime minister really prevent political ‘musical chairs’ or shadow rulers?
Read MoreIt’s no longer if—but when—your next court ruling will be shaped by AI. Judges worldwide already lean on algorithms to sift through files, assess risks, and even draft early versions of judgments. This piece explores how deeply AI has entered courtrooms, where it can do the heavy lifting for overloaded court systems—but also why human judgment must stay at the heart of justice.
Read MoreStep into the Court of Appeal on a busy day. Fifteen or more leave applications, each one dragging on—an hour gone with every hearing. Judges listen, counsel argue, yet somehow the essentials get lost in the shuffle. Is there a better way?
Read MoreShould 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 ‘Recover Action’] against the insurer? How did Malaysia’s Federal Court in the 2022 Sa' Amran decision demolish 70 years of established insurance practice? How did it revolutionise third-party victim compensation?
Read MoreIn 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 ...
Read MoreDo 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?
Read MoreThe answer is, Yes. The Malaysian Federal Constitution, specifically Article 11(1), read with Art 3(1) and (5), guarantees every individual’s right to ‘profess’, ‘practice’, and, subject to certain laws prohibiting proselytisation to Muslims, to ‘propagate’ their religion. The Constitution therefore guarantees that non-Muslims have the same fundamental right of worship as do our Muslim counterparts. I will all tell you an interesting story at the end.
Read More