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Royal Charter of Justice in 1826 which extended the applicability of English law to
Singapore and Malacca. 62 The third Royal Charter of Justice 1855 further extended
the applicability of English law to the Straits Settlements. In the Federated Malay
States, English law was employed through the Civil Law Enactment 1937, and when
the Unfederated Malay States became part of the Federation of Malaya in 1948, the
application was extended to those states through the Civil Law (Extension)
Ordinance 1951. 63 Later, both Enactments were replaced by the Civil Law Ordinance
1956 which applied to all states in the Federation. 64 When Malaysia, which included
Sabah and Sarawak, was formed in 1963, the Civil Law Ordinance was replaced by
the Civil Law Act 1956 (Revised 1972). 65
After the Second World War, there were attempts by the British to coalesce the
Federated and the Unfederated Malay States into a single administration. This led to
the introduction of the Malayan Union in 1946, and the Companies Ordinance 1946
was enacted. 66 Due to the resistance and objections of the Malays to the Malayan
Union, the Federation of Malaya was established in 1948 although the Companies
Ordinance 1946 remained until 1965 when it was replaced by the Companies Act of
that year. 67 Until 1965, there were two Companies laws; the Straits Settlements
Companies Ordinance 1940 which applied to the Straits Settlements and the
Companies Ordinance 1946 which was applicable in the Federation of Malaya. 68
Sabah and Sarawak too remained separate and had separate legislation: the
62 Ibid.
63 Ibid.
64 Ibid.
65 Ibid.
66 Ibid.
67 CLRC above n58 at 12.
68 Ibid.
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