Role of mediation in resolving community disputes

The social background of Malaysia as a multicultural and multi ethnic country. The interaction and integration is somewhat dependent upon the knowledge and understanding of the various cultures, languages and religions. Every single issue involving different racial and religious groups is sensitive and should be handled diligently. Malaysia should have its own mechanism towards national integration and dispute resolution is definitely a major priority. CM is considered as the best method since the mediator will have to rely on the ethnic and racial identities to interpret the interpersonal problems and thus, achieve a fair result to all the parties. Malaysia should revive its tradition that had been replaced by litigation by introducing CM and expose the people of self empower which should be a better way to deal with their dissatisfaction and needs rather than leaving them in the hand of authority to deal with their disputes

Reconciliation provision under English and Malaysian family law: a comparative overview

The principle of irretrievable breakdown of marriage is the basis of the law of divorce of Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) Act 1976 (“LRA”) of Malaysia and Divorce Reform Act 1969/Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 (“MCA”) of England and Wales. In England and Wales, this is the sole ground for divorce. Malaysian law has, in addition, made conversion of one of the parties to Islam (s 51) and mutual consent (s 52) as grounds for divorce. Both jurisdictions emphasise the possibility of reconciliation between the spouses that may save the marriage. In England, the application of the provisions concerning reconciliation and conciliation under the MCA had faced difficulty since it came into force. This led to the reformation of the MCA into Family Law Act 1996 (“FLA”) especially provisions relating to the practice of reconciliation and conciliation, where mediation takes centre stage. The LRA however, remains the same today as it was introduced in 1976. Thus, the aim of this article is to review this aspect of the law, as the LRA of Malaysia is based, with some modifications, on the MCA of England. It is hoped that this article will highlight the strengths and weaknesses of the reconciliation provisions of both countries, i.e. Malaysia and England, with a view towards a better legal provision on reconciliation in the future

Conciliatory Committee and Hakam (arbitrator) under the Islamic family law in Malaysia

In Malaysia, the administration of Islamic family law is under the separate jurisdiction of different states where each state has its own enactment over matters relating to family law governing Muslims. In this article, the discussion focuses upon the provisions on dispute resolutions under the Islamic Family Law (Federal Territories) Act 1984, whici is the model Act followed by other states in Malaysia. The article traces in general the historical background of the IFLA 1984. The main focus of the article is on the provisions concerning the dispute resolution, which is provided for under ss 47(5) to (17) and 48 of the IFLA 1984. These relevant provisions are discussed against the background of the principles and rules of tahkim (arbitration) as deliberated in the sources of syariah

Mediasi sekolah: proses penyelesaian pertikaian di luar mahkamah

Satu proses yang menggunakan pihak ketiga (pihak neutral kepada konflik) untuk memudahkan komunikasi antara pihakpihak dalam pertikaian tentang kedudukan mereka. Secara ringkas, mediasi adalah rundingan yang dijalankan dengan bantuan pihak ketiga

Online mediation in Malaysia: with reference to the practice of mediation in the Family Support Division of the Syariah Judiciary Department

Mediation as one of alternative dispute resolution(ADR) mechanisms is getting popular and becoming a prefered choice amongst the disputing parties. Mediation process is more relax, inexpensive and has many advantages. Online mediation is a new development in mediation practice in many countries now. However, Malaysia has yet to fully practice online mediation in resolving the dispute. In this digitalization era, it is important for Malaysia to have an online mediation since many Malaysian citizens are working overseas either as a professional or non-professional. The existence of online mediation system will assist the parties if there is a need to attend mediation session in Malaysia. It will further support the current mediation centres in Malaysia to expand their coverage globally. In future, there is a need to introduce specific law to regulate the practice of online mediation. Currently, the Family Support Division of the Syariah Judiciary Department offers online mediation to their clients. The division has just launched its latest guidelines book on mediation which covers online mediation as well. The paper adopts library based and qualitative research method. The aim of the paper is to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of online mediation, the issues faced by parties and the challenges of online mediation in Malaysia. Subsequently, in this paper, the roles and functions of the Family Support Division in helping single mothers and their children are discussed and it also proposes the procedures to be adopted by the Division that provides online mediation service to their cllients