Amendments to Insolvency Act expected to be tabled this week, says Azalina

KUALA LUMPUR: The second reading of the amendments to the Insolvency Act 1967 is expected to be tabled this week in Parliament, says Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said.

The Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Law and Institutional Reforms) said this follows its first reading at the Dewan Rakyat on Monday (May 22).

“The amendments are in line with the second chance policy to help those who were declared bankrupt and to give them an opportunity to improve their financial status and contribute to the country’s economy.

“The amendments are also a commitment by the government to provide effective insolvency legislation in the country to meet the current needs and challenges by taking into account the interests of the public, creditors and individuals who were declared bankrupt,” she said in a statement on Monday (May 22).

Among the recommendations are using information technology in the administration of bankruptcy cases; conduct meetings with creditors; improve the automatic mechanism for the discharge of bankrupt statuses; and increase the number of eligible bankrupt categories to be released through a certificate issued by the Insolvency Department director-general without objections from the creditors.

The recommendations also included a valuation review on properties that belonged to the individuals with bankruptcy statuses such as the property value that can be exempted from distribution to creditors.

Azalina previously said that a total of 49,133 bankruptcy cases were registered from 2018 until last year, in which 5,695 cases were reported in 2022 alone.