
Yesterday I officiated the newly-relocated office of the Kuala Lumpur Regional Centre for Arbitration (KLRCA). At the new office in Bangunan Sulaiman, I spoke on Malaysia’s aspiration to become a premier centre for arbitration in the Southeast Asian region. We are convinced that KLRCA, the first institution of its kind to be established in South East Asia, possessed all the right qualities to become the region’s arbitration centre of choice.
The Government has always displayed commitment to openness and growth for Malaysia’s services sector, and we want more competition and more opportunities to come to Malaysia. Just recently, the Government had prepared the right environment for arbitration to grow, including amending the Legal Profession Act 1976. The amendment will allow foreign arbitrators and lawyers to enter Malaysia to participate in proceedings here, while foreign practitioners are also exempted from applying for work permit to enter Malaysia to conduct arbitration proceedings.