Establishment of the Appeal Tribunal
(1) The Minister may establish an Appeal Tribunal, which shall convene on an ad hoc basis, as the Minister considers necessary or expedient for good cause and in the interest of justice, or to assist in the performance of the Commission’s functions, or in the public interest.
(2) The Minister shall appoint, by order to be published in the Gazette—
(a) a Chairman of the Appeal Tribunal; and
(b) at least two other members, or such greater number of members, of the Appeal Tribunal,
to review a particular matter under a licence, this Act or its subsidiary legislation.
(3) The Minister shall appoint a person who is currently a Judge of the High Court to be the Chairman of the Appeal Tribunal.
(4) The appointment of any member of the Appeal Tribunal may be renewed upon the expiry of his term as a member.
(5) No member of the Appeal Tribunal shall be appointed for a term exceeding three years.
(6) Notwithstanding subsection (5), a member of the Appeal Tribunal may be reappointed for a further term.
Matters which the Appeal Tribunal may review
(1) The Appeal Tribunal may review any matter on appeal, from a decision or direction of the Commission but not from a determination by the Commission.
(2) Any decision by the Appeal Tribunal is final and binding on the parties to the appeal and is not subject to further appeal.
Qualifications of members
A person is qualified to be a member of the Appeal Tribunal if he has knowledge of or experience in—
(a) the communications and multimedia industry;
(b) engineering;
(c) law;
(d) economics or commerce; or
(e) public administration.
Resignation and termination of an appointment
(1) The Minister may at any time terminate the appointment of the Chairman or any other member of the Appeal Tribunal if—
(a) he resigns his office;
(b) he becomes of unsound mind or otherwise incapable of performing his duties or managing his affairs;
(c) he becomes bankrupt or insolvent;
(d) he is prohibited from being a director of a company under any written law relating to companies;
(e) he has been convicted of an offence, under any law, by a court in Malaysia;
(f) he is guilty of serious misconduct in relation to his duties;
(g) he fails to comply with his obligations under section 26; or
(h) his performance has been unsatisfactory for a significant period of time.
(2) The Chairman or any member may, at any time, resign his office by giving a written notice to the Minister.
Vacation of office and acting appointments
(1) The office of the Chairman or any member of the Appeal Tribunal shall be vacated if—
(a) he dies;
(b) he resigns or otherwise vacates his office before the expiry of the term for which he is appointed; or
(c) his appointment is terminated.
(2) The Minister shall appoint a person in accordance with section 17 to replace the Chairman or any other member during the vacancy in the office of the Chairman or any other member.
(3) The Minister shall appoint a person in accordance with section 17 to act as the Chairman, or any other member—
(a) during any period when the Chairman or any other member is absent from any duty or from Malaysia; or
(b) if the Chairman or any other member is, for any reason, unable to perform the duties of the office.
(4) The exercise of the powers, or the performance of the functions, of the Appeal Tribunal is not affected only because of there being a vacancy in the membership of the Tribunal.
Quorum for the Appeal Tribunal
The quorum for the Appeal Tribunal shall be formed by—
(a) a Judge; and
(b) at least two other members, or any greater even number of members not exceeding four, none of whom are Judges,
for the purposes of the functions of the Appeal Tribunal under this Act.
Decision
The decision of the Appeal Tribunal, on any matter, shall be decided on a majority of votes of the members.
Enforcement of decision of Appeal Tribunal
Any decision given by the Appeal Tribunal may be enforced in the same manner as a judgment or an order of the High Court.
Appeal Tribunal procedures
The Minister may make regulations regarding the operating procedures of the Appeal Tribunal, including but not limited to—
(a) the funding of the Appeal Tribunal;
(b) members’ remuneration;
(c) the appointment of members to form the quorum of the Appeal Tribunal;
(d) the appointment of an acting member;
(e) the conduct of the hearings;
(f) any other matter incidental to the hearings; and
(g) the employment of staff, if any.
Powers of Appeal Tribunal
The Appeal Tribunal shall have the power—
(a) to summon parties to the proceedings or any other person to attend before it to give evidence in respect of an appeal;
(b) to procure and receive evidence on oath or affirmation, whether written or oral, and examine all such persons as witnesses as the Appeal Tribunal thinks necessary to procure, receive or examine;
(c) where a person is so summoned, to require the production of any book, paper, document, record or other thing in
his possession or under his control and which the Appeal Tribunal may consider necessary for the purposes of the appeal;
(d) to administer any oath, affirmation or statutory declaration, as the case may require;
(e) where a person is so summoned, to allow the payment for any reasonable expenses incurred in connection with his attendance;
(f) of a subordinate court with regard to the enforcement of attendance of witnesses, hearing evidence on oath or affirmation and punishment for contempt;
(g) to admit evidence or reject evidence adduced, whether oral or documentary, and whether admissible or inadmissible under the provisions of any written law for the time being in force relating to the admissibility of evidence;
(h) to adjourn the hearing of an appeal from time to time, including the power to adjourn to consider its decision; and
(i) to generally direct and do all such things as may be necessary or expedient for the expeditious decision of the appeal.
Suspension of member
The Minister may, at his discretion, suspend any member of the Appeal Tribunal on the ground of misbehaviour or incapacity.
Disclosure of interest
(1) A member of the Appeal Tribunal shall disclose, as soon as practicable, to the Chairman any interest, whether substantial or not, which may conflict with the member’s duties as a member of the Tribunal, in a particular matter.
(2) If the Chairman is of the opinion that the member’s interest is in conflict with the member’s duties, the Chairman shall inform all the parties, including the appellants and the respondents, to the matter of the conflict.
(3) If none of the parties to the matter objects to the conflict, the member may continue to execute his duties as a member of the Tribunal in relation to that matter.
(4) If a party to the matter objects to the conflict, the member shall not continue to execute his duties as a member of the Tribunal in relation to that matter.
(5) The failure by a member to disclose his interest in the matter shall subject him to the relevant disciplinary measures under section 20 or 25.
Secretary of Appeal Tribunal and other officers
(1) The Minister shall designate a public officer as a Secretary of the Appeal Tribunal to assist the Appeal Tribunal in carrying out its function under this Act.
(2) The Minister may designate such number of other public officers as the Minister thinks fit to assist the Secretary in carrying out his function under subsection (1).
(3) For the purpose of this Act, the Secretary and the officers designated under subsection (2) shall be deemed to be officers of the Appeal Tribunal.
Obligation of secrecy
(1) Except for this Part or for the purposes of any civil or criminal proceedings under any written law, or where authorized by the Minister—
(a) the Chairman, members of the Appeal Tribunal or any officer of the Appeal Tribunal shall not, during the time he serves as such Chairman, member or officer, disclose any information obtained by him in the course of his duties; and
(b) no other person who has, by any means, access to any information or document relating to the affairs of the Appeal Tribunal shall disclose such information or document.
(2) A person who contravenes subsection (1) commits an offence and shall, on conviction, be liable to a fine not exceeding ten thousand ringgit or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months or to both.
Public servants and public officers
The Chairman and all members and officers of the Appeal Tribunal, while discharging their duties as the Chairman and such members and officers, shall be deemed to be public servants within the meaning of the Penal Code [Act 574], and to be public officers for the purposes of the Criminal Procedure Code [Act 593].
Application of Public Authorities Protection Act 1948
The Public Authorities Protection Act 1948 [Act 198] shall apply to any action, suit, prosecution or proceedings against the Appeal Tribunal, Chairman or any member or officer of the Appeal Tribunal in respect of any act, neglect or default done or committed by him in such capacity.
Act or omission done in good faith
No action or suit shall be instituted or maintained in any court against—
(a) the Appeal Tribunal;
(b) the Chairman or any member of the Appeal Tribunal;
(c) the Secretary or any other officer of the Appeal Tribunal; or
(d) a person authorized to act for and on behalf of the Appeal Tribunal,
for any act or omission done in good faith in the performance of its or his functions and the exercise of its or his powers under this Act and any subsidiary legislation made under this Act.
Source: Laws of Malaysia, Attorney General's Chambers of Malaysia (lom.agc.gov.my). Not a copy of the Gazette printed by the Government Printer (Interpretation Acts 1948 and 1967, s 61).
