Establishment
s 3
There is established a Witness Protection Programme to be maintained by the Director General.
Witness Protection Act 2009 Part II — WITNESS PROTECTION PROGRAMME
Appointments
s 4
(1) The Minister may appoint a Director General and a Deputy Director General of Witness Protection from amongst members of the public services. (2) The Minister may appoint such other person or persons, as he deems fit, to assist the Director General in carrying out the purposed of this Act. (3) Every person appointed under subsection (2) shall be subject to general direction, control and supervision of the Director General and shall have and exercise all the powers of the Director General under this Act except those referred in subsections 12(1) and 15(1). (4) In the event that the Director General is absent or unable to act due to illness or any other cause, the Deputy Director General shall exercise the powers of the Director General under subsections 12(1) and 15(1).
Functions
s 5
(1) The Director General shall responsible for the recommendation of witnesses to whom protection and assistance may be provided under the Programme. (2) The Director General may arrange or provide protection and other assistance to a witness or participant under the Programme.
Duty to provide assistance
s 6
(1) Notwithstanding any written law to the contrary, a person shall provide to the Director General, on the Director General’s request, any statement, record, other document or other form of assistance that may assist the Director General in performing his functions under this Act. (2) Any person who contravenes subsection (1) commits an offence and shall, on conviction, be liable to a fine not exceeding three thousand ringgit or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to both. (3) Notwithstanding any written law to the contrary, no proceedings or action shall be taken against a person who acts in compliance with subsection (1).
Application for inclusion in the Programme
s 7
(1) Any witness may apply to the Director General to be included in the Programme. (2) An enforcement agency may, with the written consent of a witness, apply to the Director General that the witness be included in the Programme. (3) If a witness is under eighteen years of age, a parent or guardian of the witness may apply on his behalf to be included in the Programme. (4) Upon receipt of an application under this section, the Director General may provide interim protection and assistance to a witness.
Witness to disclose certain matters
s 8
(1) In an application under section 7, a witness shall— (a) disclose to the Director General details of all outstanding legal obligations of the witness; (b) disclose to the Director General details of any outstanding debts of the witness, including any outstanding tax; (c) disclose to the Director General details of the criminal history of the witness which includes orders relating to sentences imposed on the witness; (d) disclose to the Director General details of any civil proceedings that have been instituted by or against the witness; (e) disclose to the Director General details of any bankruptcy proceedings that have been instituted against the witness; (f) inform the Director General whether the witness is an undischarged bankrupt under the Insolvency Act 1967 [Act 360] and, if the witness is an undischarged bankrupt, shall submit to the Director General copies of all documents relating to the bankruptcy; (g) inform the Director General whether there are any restriction on the witness holding positions in companies, whether public or private and, if there are, give to the Director general copies of all documents relating to those restrictions; (h) disclose to the Director General details of the immigration status of the witness; (i) disclose to the Director General details of any reparation order that is in force against the witness; (j) disclose to the Director General details of the financial liabilities and assets, whether real or personal, of the witness; (k) inform the Director General whether any of the property of the witness, whether real or personal, is liable to forfeiture or confiscation or is subject to restraint under any other law; (l) inform the Director General of the general medical condition of the witness; (m) disclose to the Director General details of any relevant court orders or arrangements relating to custody or access to children; (n) disclose to the Director General details of any business dealings in which the witness is involved; and (o) disclose to the Director General details of any arrangements that the witness has made for— (i) the service of documents on the witness; (ii) representation in proceedings in a court; (iii) enforcement of judgments in favour of the witness; and (iv) compliance with the enforcement of judgments against the witness. (2) The Director General may send such witness to undergo medical, psychological and psychiatric examinations to determine his suitability for inclusion in the Programme. (3) Any person who discloses or supplies information to the Director General for the purpose of assisting the Director General in deciding whether or not to recommend him to be included in the Programme shall not disclose or supply information which he knows or ought reasonably to know is false. (4) Any person who contravenes subsection (3) 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 five years or to both.
Factors to be considered
s 9
(1) The Director General in deciding whether to recommend that a witness is to be included in the Programme or not shall consider the following: (a) whether the witness has a criminal record, particularly in respect of crimes of violence, and whether that record indicates a risk to the public if the witness is included in the Programme; (b) the result of a medical, psychological and psychiatric examinations conducted under subsection 8(2); (c) the seriousness of the offence to which the evidence or statement of the witness relates; (d) the nature and importance of the evidence or statement of the witness; (e) whether there are alternative methods of protecting the witness; (f) the nature of the perceived danger to the witness; (g) the nature of the relationship of the witness to other witnesses being selected for inclusion in the Programme; and (h) any other matters as the Director General considers relevant. (2) The Director General may make such other inquiries and investigations, as he considers necessary, for the purposes of assessing whether the witness is to be recommended to be included in the Programme.
Inclusion in the Programme
s 10
(1) The Director General shall, after considering the factors referred to in section 9, recommend whether or not a witness is to be included in the Programme. (2) Every recommendation by the Director General for a witness to be included in the Programme, shall be made to the Attorney General. (3) The Attorney General, upon receiving the recommendation referred to in subsection (1), shall decide whether or not to include a witness in the Programme. (4) If any person is aggrieved by the decision of the Attorney General under subsection (3), he may appeal in writing to the Minister within fourteen days from the date of receipt of the decision. (5) Where an appeal is made under subsection (4)— (a) the Attorney General shall submit his grounds of decision together with the recommendation of the Director General under subsection (1) to the Minister; and (b) the protection and assistance to the witness, if provided by the Director General under subsection 7(4), shall continue until the decision on the appeal is made by the Minister. (6) The Minister shall, upon receipt of an appeal under subsection (4), make a decision on the appeal.
Register of Participants
s 11
(1) The Minister shall appoint a Registrar of Witness Protection to maintain a Register of Participants. (2) The Register shall contain the following: (a) the participant’s identity; (b) if the participant has been provided with a new identity under the Programme, the participant’s new identity; (c) the participant’s address; (d) the participant’s previous convictions; (e) the date on which the participant is included in the Programme; (f) the date on which the participant ceases to be in the Programme; and (g) details of any order given by the Director General under subsection 15(1). (3) The Registrar shall keep in his custody in such form and manner as he may determine the following documents: (a) notwithstanding any written law to the contrary, in the case of a participant being given a new identity— (i) the birth certificate, identity card, marriage certificate and any other document relating to the original identity of the participant; and (ii) a copy of the new birth certificate, identity card, marriage certificate and any other document issued under the Programme; and (b) a copy of an order given by the Director General under subsection 15(1).
Access to Register
s 12
(1) No person shall have access to the Register and to the documents kept by the Registrar except the Minister, Attorney General, Director General and any other person who is authorized in writing by the Director General. (2) Notwithstanding any written law to the contrary, the Register shall not be produced to any person or in any proceedings in a court, tribunal, Commission or an inquiry. (3) Any person who contravenes this section commits an offence and shall, on conviction, be punished with imprisonment for a term not exceeding twenty years.
Action where a witness is included in the Programme
s 13
(1) The Director General shall take such actions, as he considers necessary and reasonable, to protect the safety and welfare of participant. (2) The action may include— (a) providing accommodation for the participant; (b) relocating the participant; (c) applying for any document necessary to allow the participant to establish a new identity; (d) providing transport for the transfer of the property of the participant; (e) providing payment equivalent to the remuneration that the participant was receiving before being included in the Programme including any increment to the remuneration which the participant would have been entitled to, if he was not included in the Programme; (f) where the participant is unemployed before being included in the Programme, providing payments to the participant for the purpose of meeting the reasonable living expenses of the participant including, where appropriate, living expenses of the family of the participant and providing, whether directly or indirectly, other reasonable financial assistance; (g) providing payments to the participant for the purpose of meeting costs associated with relocation; (h) providing assistance to the participant in obtaining employment or access to education; (i) providing other assistance to the participant with a view to ensuring that the participant becomes self-supporting; and (j) any other action that the Director General considers necessary. (3) Notwithstanding any written law to the contrary, there shall be no relocation of any participant by the Director General under paragraph (2)(b)— (a) to the State of Sabah from any place outside the State of Sabah; and (b) to the State of Sarawak from any place outside the State of Sarawak. (4) Where the Director General makes a request to any person, having the power or duty under any other written law to issue birth certificate, identity card, marriage certificate or any other document relating to the identity of a participant, to issue a new document necessary to allow the participant to establish a new identity, such person shall comply with the request. (5) The Director General shall not apply for any document to allow a participant to establish a new identity under paragraph (2)(c) unless he has obtained a written consent from the participant. (6) The Director General may permit his officer to use assumed names in carrying out their duties in relation to the Programme and to carry documentation supporting those assumed names.
Back to Witness Protection Act 2009 — full text
Provisions on this page are reproduced verbatim from official open data. See the attribution line.
Text as at 1 September 2019 (LOM reprint); amendments made after that date may not be incorporated. Read the official text ↗
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).
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