Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Datuk Seri Azalina stated that the amendment to the Witness Protection Act is expected to be presented to parliament this June.
She mentioned that other bills expected to be presented include the Cross-Border Insolvency Bill 2025, the Legal Aid and Public Defense Services Bill to replace the Legal Aid Act 1971, and the Mediation (Amendment) Bill 2025.
“The Witness Protection Bill is our biggest issue because if a case involves witness protection, it must be prioritized and cannot be delayed too long.
“There are several witnesses who have been under protection for several years, and I do not agree with this practice just because the case is delayed. Therefore, I want to emphasize that if these cases are on the witness protection list, they must be prioritized and resolved quickly.
“This is my hope, otherwise, categorizing them as witness protection is meaningless.”
She said this to reporters after attending the Legal Affairs Division’s iftar dinner in the Prime Minister’s Department today.
Moreover, Azalina noted that she has visited ASEAN countries and met with legal and judicial ministers from those countries to obtain opinions on the Cross-Border Insolvency Bill.
“For instance, concerning cross-border insolvency, with the ASEAN legal forum, we hope to get commitments from ASEAN countries.”
She mentioned that the government has reviewed over 2000 outdated laws to ensure they keep up with current times, including issues involving digital signatures under contract law.
“I’ll give an example of a contract law issue, right now we are widely using digital signatures, and sometimes the existing contract law cannot comprehensively cover the digital aspects.”