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2.2.3 Australia
Australia has been the most active in shaping and reforming its legislation in
accordance with the country’s economic and business cultures. Since the 1960s,
several changes had been made to its company statutes, particularly in the area of
directors’ liabilities when the company is trading during insolvency. Its current
legislation, which was enacted in 2001, was a result of various amendments since the
publication of the Harmer Report. 18
2.2.4 Malaysia
Malaysian Company law is governed by the Companies Act 1965, a statute which is
influenced by various jurisdictions. The Mohar Commission, which was in charge of
preparing the draft legislation, considered the law then in force in the UK, Australia,
New Zealand and India. 19 In addition, the Commission also referred to the Ghanaian
draft Code as well as the UK Cohen and Jenkin Reports. 20 As a result of this, the
Companies Act 1965 contains a mixture of various Commonwealth countries’
company law legal theory although the most dominant input came from the UK and
Australia.
Hence, the Malaysian courts when interpreting the statute often refer to those
Commonwealth countries, particularly the UK and Australian cases, as and when the
wording of the provisions are similar. Although the status of these decisions is
persuasive and not binding on the Malaysian courts, most judges prefer to adopt the
decisions to the letter. Nevertheless, through time, changes have been made to the
18 Australia Law Reform Commission, General Insolvency Inquiry Report (ALRC R45 Vol 1 1988)
at 25 January 2008.
.
19 Malaysia, Parliamentary Debates, Dewan Negara, (16 August 1965) Vol II No 6 at 768. The
Malaysian Companies Act is generally based on the Victoria Companies Act 1961 (Australia).
Nevertheless, the UK Companies Act 1948, the New Zealand Companies Act 1955, as well as the
Indian Companies Act 1956 also influenced the drafting of the Malaysian Act.
20 Ibid.
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