SEREMBAN: The Legal Aid Department is stepping up efforts to reach both urban and rural communities through its ‘Justice on Wheels’ mobile initiative, aimed at raising awareness of legal rights and available aid services.
Its deputy director-general, Arleen Ramly, said the initiative adopts a proactive approach to broaden access to justice, particularly for communities facing geographical and financial barriers to legal assistance.
"This effort ensures no one is left behind in accessing justice. Through ‘Justice on Wheels’, communities can obtain a range of services including legal advice, litigation, mediation and legal representation support.
"Members of the public can also access information via the department’s official portal or engage through a chatbox service for preliminary guidance before receiving further assistance.”
She said this during the briefing on the ‘Justice on Wheels’ and Influencer@Japen initiatives held in collaboration with the Negri Sembilan Department of Information (Japen) at Wisma Persekutuan on Wednesday (April 15).
Statistics from Negri Sembilan show that the department delivered 1,795 advisory services last year, alongside 565 litigation cases, 417 mediation cases and nine instances of legal representation support.
Arleen said that following the enforcement of the Legal Aid and Public Defence Act 2026 (Act 878), the department will provide public defence services in criminal and syariah criminal cases, including appointing panel lawyers to represent accused persons.
The implementation of Act 878 will allow the department to assume and strengthen public defence functions previously managed by the National Legal Aid Foundation, thereby expanding access to legal assistance nationwide. — Bernama
