KUALA LUMPUR (May 29): Hearings of civil and criminal cases that have been set for physical proceedings in the courts will be postponed, in line with the first phase of the total lockdown announced by the government, with new dates for these hearings to be announced at a later date.

In a statement today, the Registrar’s Office of the Federal Court of Malaysia said hearings of civil cases will have to be conducted online.

“Taking into account the implementation period of the first phase of the total lockdown, if government agencies, lawyers and the public have difficulty in continuing the trial, fearing that it will affect the right of the parties to a fair trial through remote communication, government agencies, lawyers and the public may apply to adjourn the case,” it said.

Meanwhile, the filing of civil and criminal cases will be done as usual via the courts’ application system, while case management for these cases has to be done via remote communication.

On the other hand, only physical proceedings will be allowed for all new charges, remand order applications and miscellaneous criminal order applications.

The parties may also file an immediate certificate or application for civil and criminal cases if necessary, with the courts to give further instructions to the parties in relation to the matter.

For criminal applications that need to be conducted through physical appearance in the superior courts for special reasons and exceptional circumstances, the courts will use their discretion in considering the applications.

The Registrar’s Office said that these orders supersede any previous orders it announced during the enforcement of the movement control order (MCO) via email on March 17, 2020, March 26, 2020 and April 24, 2020.

These orders will also be in force in the event that the government announces any extension of the lockdown, as well as any additional orders issued.

It is noted that the announcement today will affect several high-profile criminal cases, including former finance minister Lim Guan Eng’s undersea tunnel graft trial on June 9 in the Sessions Court, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor’s trial on June 8, her husband and former premier Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) trial, as well as Umno president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s graft trial in the Shah Alam High Court.