Working Visit to the Malaysian Department of Insolvency, Terengganu

I held a working visit to the Malaysian Department of Insolvency (MDI) in Terengganu this morning. I was accompanied by Tuan M. Bakri, Director-General of Insolvency Malaysia and Mr. Mohd Sahrilnizam bin Mohd Amin alongside Ms. Nurul Najmi Adila binti Md Nasir, representatives from the Terengganu Bar Committee. 

I was heartened to learn during my working visit that some 1,102 bankrupts have been discharged in Terengganu as of 31st May 2024. This encompassed some 716 bankrupts with small debts below RM50,000. There is a total of 2,017 bankruptcy cases being administered by MDI in Terengganu. I instructed for the process of discharge of bankrupts to be accelerated for those eligible to meet the Government’s target of 130,000 bankrupts discharged by the end of this year. 

We also engaged with the Terengganu Bar Committee to learn of issues faced by lawyers in Terengganu when dealing with MDI. We were informed of issues involving late response to calls and emails in the past to which the Director-General of Insolvency responded informing them of the measures that have been put in place to ensure this does not happen under his watch. The Director-General also shared that any email left unanswered by MDI should be followed up with a second email copied to the Director-General. He will ensure reply. 

I further shared that throughout my working visits this year, I have found there to be a serious lack of engagement between government and the State Bar Committees in matters involving development of courts and insolvency. This must change. There must be more interaction with lawyers as they are our primary stakeholders in legal affairs. I have made this clear.

My working visits such as this to the field are to learn of the every day issues faced by MDI staff and lawyers in matters relating to insolvency so that we are aware of them and may make policy level improvements to address the same.