A Dose of Justice Served

This post is taken from an article I wrote in the Hubpages. I think this augurs well for the property sector in the country. It’s a good sign. We want Malaysia to strife for good governance which is so lacking in this country.

“I have almost lost faith in the Malaysian Judiciary System. This did not happen recently. It was built up over the years. However, the landmark ruling by the Federal Court on 21 January 2010 made me rethink the direction our Judiciary System is heading. This ruling will put a stop to illegal land transfers in the country. There may yet be hope.

Previously, the Federal Court had ruled that owner whose property was transferred via fraudulent means could not take legal action against the third party who bought the land from the fraudster. Unscrupulous people will falsify tittles transfer and documents to themselves and then sell the properties. Once the property is sold, the law could not protect the rightful owner as long as it can be proven that the third party buyer bought the land on good faith. This resulted in property fraud victims being unable to recover their property. Since the ruling about 10 years ago, fraudulent transfer has become a thriving business for some. After a decade, this has finally been corrected.

The landmark ruling on 21st Jan 2010 meant that if it can be proven that a title has been obtained by forgery or misrepresentation, then the claim can be defeated. This will help curb forgery incidents and property scams and protect owners from losing their property. In this rare joint effort by the entire legal fraternity including the 4 highest ranking judges, it is no longer legal for anyone to buy a piece of property from someone who got hold of the property through fraudulent means.

This will also give us assurance that our property will not be easily stolen and we can take legal action if it happens. I think it will also increase investors’ confidence in Malaysia.

This is just a dose of Justice served. Many, many, many more doses are required. We are still far away from an effective and efficient Judiciary System. The beginning of a long journey, maybe.”

Case References:

Tan Yin Hong vs Tan Sian San

Adorna Properties Sdn Bhd vs Boonsom Boonyanit

Do give us your comments or views on this matter. Cheers!