Situasi · 29 guides

Charged, sued or going to court

What counts as a crime, what it carries, and what happens once a case starts.

The biggest section, because it follows a case from beginning to end: what the charge actually means (drugs, gambling, bribery, sedition and more), remand and bail, how prosecutors decide, and what each court can do. It also covers the civil side — letters of demand, suing and being sued — and the strange corners of the system: Royal Commissions, royal pardons, crimes committed overseas, and the registry you’re not allowed to see.

“He kena tahan under 39B.” A drug trafficking charge, step by step: what actually happens next, and to whom. Read the guide → “How long can police hold him?” The remand clocks, the extensions, and police bail — jamin mulut — explained. Read the guide → “Someone asked me for a bribe.” Careful: not reporting it is itself a crime. Read the guide → “I want to sue someone powerful.” A seven-judge Federal Court bench said you can sue even a Prime Minister. Read the guide →

Latest legal insights

A Falling Coconut Tree Made Legal History. What It Means If a Council's Neglect Hurts YouA holidaymaker was paralysed when a coconut tree fell on him at Pantai Cenang in 2019. He lost in the High Court, won in the Court of Appeal, and in July 2026 the council was refused permission to take it further. The ruling says a lot about what your local majlis owes you in a public place.

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Someone you know got charged under 39B. Here's what actually happens next.Drug trafficking under section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act — the weight presumptions, why there's no bail, what the chemist report decides, and the one thing that must not happen in the first 24 hours.
Attempting suicide is no longer a crime in Malaysia. Here's what happens instead.Section 309 was repealed in 2023. What replaced it, what Crisis Intervention Officers can do, and where to get help — Talian HEAL 15555 and Befrienders.
One person is the government's lawyer AND decides who gets prosecuted. Parliament is voting on changing that.The Attorney General's dual role under Article 145, why critics call it a conflict, and where the constitutional amendment to split the offices stands right now.
Can you sue a Prime Minister? A seven-judge Federal Court bench said yes.Misfeasance in public office explained — the 2019 Tony Pua ruling that made ministers suable, what the tort requires, and why almost every claim fails.

All 31 guides

Acquitted by a Letter: How Ali Tinju Walked Out of the Sedition Act DockThe Attorney-General can stop any prosecution without giving a reason. How Article 145(3) works, why DNAA and acquittal are not the same, and where the reform stands.
MACC Once Asked For A Pendrive On Alleged Corruption. Here's What Malaysian Law Actually Requires You To Report.Holding information about someone else's alleged corruption is not the same as being offered a bribe. When section 25 of the MACC Act actually forces you to report, and what kills your whistleblower protection.
A Falling Coconut Tree Made Legal History. What It Means If a Council's Neglect Hurts YouA holidaymaker was paralysed when a coconut tree fell on him at Pantai Cenang in 2019. He lost in the High Court, won in the Court of Appeal, and in July 2026 the council was refused permission to take it further. The ruling says a lot about what your local majlis owes you in a public place.
Malaysia "decriminalised" drugs and abolished the death penalty — so why can you still hang for ganja?What actually changed after the 2023 death penalty reforms and the 2024 drug dependants amendment, what didn't, and why 200g of cannabis can still cost you your life.
A Royal Commission can arrest you to make you testify — but its findings bind nobodyHow RCIs work under the Commissions of Enquiry Act 1950, why their findings aren't legally binding, and where the 2026 MACC "corporate mafia" demand stands.
Commit a Crime Overseas, Then Fly Home? Here's When Malaysia Can Still Prosecute YouMalaysian courts can try you at home for overseas crimes, from terrorism to a 2026 child-protection expansion. Prosecution vs extradition, explained.
The tribunal that sacked Malaysia's top judge was chaired by the man who replaced himThe 1988 judicial crisis explained — how a Lord President was removed, why five Supreme Court judges were suspended, and why RM10.5 million was paid out 20 years later without an apology.
Is your CNY mahjong game illegal? Yes, technically — and 11 uncles once got detained to prove itWhat's actually legal to bet on in Malaysia, whether police can raid your house over chor dai di, the RM1,500 fine for World Cup betting on your phone, and the penalty hike everyone quotes that was never actually passed.
Someone asked you for a bribe. Not reporting it is itself a crime.Section 25 of the MACC Act makes failing to report a bribe an offence — up to RM100,000 and 10 years. Real Malaysian sentences, how to report, and what whistleblower protection actually covers.
What Malaysian rape law covers, what it leaves out, and what to do in the first 24 hoursSection 375 requires penile penetration and exempts husbands. What that means in practice, where to get help — OSCC, WAO, Talian Kasih — and the reform debate.
Malaysia Has a Child Sexual-Offence Screening System. Here’s What e-DKK Actually ChecksSince April 2019, parents and organisations working with children have been able to ask JKM to screen a prospective caregiver or worker against child sexual-offence conviction records. It is a confidential yes-or-follow-up check, not a public list of names.
Harassed by a stranger, a neighbour, an ex? Malaysia's law changed — here's what you can actually do now.Since 2023 stalking is a crime, protection orders exist, and TAGS handles harassment anywhere — not just at work. Your options outside the workplace, in order.
Going to a Malaysian court for the first time? Here's who everyone is and what not to do.Court etiquette, dress code, who sits where, and the rules that get people thrown out — including the judge who warned a public gallery that laughing wouldn't be a laughing matter.
Which Malaysian court will hear your case? A no-jargon guide to our 5-level court systemMagistrates' to Federal Court — which one hears your case depends on how much you're claiming or how serious the offence is. Plus TTPM and Small Claims.
Malaysia's Insanity Defence: Why It Rarely Works, and "Winning" Still Means Being Locked UpSection 84 lets you escape conviction for unsoundness of mind, but you carry the burden of proof, and winning usually means indefinite detention, not freedom.
KDN Seized RM1.3 Million Of Adult Toys In One Year. The Word "Obscene" Is Not Defined Anywhere.Selling adult products in Malaysia carries real prosecution risk under s.292 Penal Code and s.7(1) PPPA. Buyer risk is different. What happens to a seized parcel.
Selling Sex Is Not A Federal Offence In Malaysia. Almost Everything Around It Is.There is no Malaysian federal law criminalising the sale of sex itself — but soliciting, brothel-keeping, living on the earnings and Syariah offences all apply.
Four Tourists Stripped On Mount Kinabalu. Three Days In Jail And RM5,000 Each.Public indecency in Malaysia: s.294(a) Penal Code is strict liability — intention is irrelevant. Real sentences, the two-layer position for Muslims, and breastfeeding.
A Non-Muslim Cannot Be Charged With Khalwat. In 2014, One Was Anyway.Syariah courts have jurisdiction only over Muslims. What that means in a mixed-couple raid, what a non-Muslim should do, and where practice diverges from law.
Standing Bail For Someone Means You Can Lose Every Ringgit. Here's How Bail Actually Works.Bailable vs non-bailable vs unbailable, how bail sums are set, what a bailor is really liable for, eJamin's RM30,000 cap, and how bail gets revoked in Malaysia.
The Federal Court Invented A Tort In 2016 Because Malaysia Had No Sexual Harassment Law. It Still Matters.Mohd Ridzwan v Asmah created the tort of sexual harassment. When to use it instead of TAGS — conduct before March 2024, claims above RM250,000, and legal representation.
Getting Sued Costs You Money. Getting Charged Can Cost You Your Liberty. The Same Act Can Do Both.Civil vs criminal proceedings in Malaysia — who brings them, the two standards of proof, what each can order, and why both can run at once.
The Chief Justice Heads The Judiciary. The Prime Minister Advises On Who Gets The Job.Article 122B and the role of Malaysia's Chief Justice — what the office does, how the appointment works, the JAC's place in it, and why it is contested.
Malaysia Has No "Manslaughter". It Has Culpable Homicide Not Amounting To Murder — And Five Exceptions.Sections 299, 300, 302 and 304 of the Penal Code — how murder is downgraded, and why s.302 no longer carries a mandatory death sentence since July 2023.
Filing In The Wrong Forum Costs You Weeks. Here Is Which Malaysian Tribunal Or Court Takes Your Dispute.Choosing between TTPM, the Strata and Homebuyer Tribunals, small claims, the civil courts and arbitration — jurisdiction limits, fees and when lawyers are barred.
Malaysia Abolished Trial By Jury In 1995. A Bomoh's Murder Trial Is Widely Blamed For It.The jury system ran in Malaysia from 1807 to 1995, ended by Act A908. Why the government abolished it, what critics said, and the Mona Fandey connection.
Your Spouse Can Be Forced To Testify Against You. What They Said To You In Private Is Different.Section 120 makes spouses competent and compellable witnesses in Malaysia. Section 122 protects marital communications — with two exceptions.

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