Circular No: 091/2020
Dear Members of the Kuala Lumpur Bar,
We are aware that some criminal matters at the Magistrates’ Courts have been postponed for a considerable amount of time due to lack of Tamil and Chinese interpreters, in particular, during the Movement Control Order (“MCO”) period. This issue was discussed with the Supervisory Judge of the Criminal Subordinate Courts (“Discussion”).
Culminating from the Discussion, we are pleased to inform members that the Courts will review the scheduling of Tamil and Chinese Interpreters on a daily basis to ensure accused persons are not remanded further solely due to the lack of Tamil or Chinese interpreters.
With regard to other languages, whilst the Courts will endeavour to fix brief mention dates depending on the availability of interpreters, we have sought for guidelines from the Courts vis a vis the maximum remand against the accused person due to absence of an interpreter.
Please let us know if you come across situations where matters could not proceed on the same day solely due to the lack of a Tamil or Chinese interpreter and/or where matters are postponed for a considerable amount of time due to the lack of interpreters of other languages. You can reach us via email at noratikah@klbar.org.my.
Regards,
Jacky Loi Yap Loong
Collin Arvind Andrew
Co-Chairpersons
Criminal Law Practice Committee