Senate passes Insolvency (Amendment) Bill 2020

20 October 2020

On 22 September 2020, the Insolvency (Amendment) Bill 2020 (“Bill”) was passed by the Senate (Dewan Negara) without any amendments. The Bill seeks to amend the Insolvency Act 1967 (“Act”) and will be presented for Royal Assent and subsequently become law upon its publication in the Federal Gazette of Malaysia.

The Bill introduces the following changes:

• Minimum debt threshold: Clause 2(a) of the Bill amends section 5(1)(a) of the Act to increase the minimum debt threshold required for the presentation of a bankruptcy petition from RM50,000 to RM100,000. Additionally, clause 2(b) of the Bill empowers the Minister after consultation with the Minister of Finance, to amend the minimum threshold in section 5(1)(a) of the Act for a specific time period, if the Minister is satisfied that there are special circumstances and that it would not be contrary to public interest to do so.
• Saving provision: Clause 3 of the Bill provides that any bankruptcy petition presented and is still pending immediately before the coming into operation of the Bill will be continued or concluded under the Act as if the Act had not been amended by the Bill.

Reference materials

The Insolvency (Amendment) Bill 2020 can be found on the Malaysia Parliament website www.parlimen.gov.my or by clicking here.