s 139 Transitional provisions for Sarawak and Sabah
This Act shall not apply to the winding up of the estate of any person against whom a receiving or adjudication order has been made under the provisions of the Bankruptcy Ordinance of Sarawak [Sarawak Cap. 46] and the Insolvency Ordinance of Sabah [Sabah Cap. 62] repealed by this Act, but every such estate shall be wound up in the same manner and with the same incidents as if this Act had not been passed and for the purposes of the winding up the written laws under which the receiving or adjudication order was made shall be deemed to remain in full force. Saving 17. Notwithstanding sections 15 and 16, any proceedings, actions or other matters required to be done under the principal Act which are still pending immediately before the coming into operation of this Act shall be continued or concluded under the principal Act as if the principal Act had not been amended by this Act. SCHEDULE A [Section 15] MEETING OF CREDITORS 1. (Deleted by Act A1695). 2. The Director General of Insolvency shall summon— (a) in the case of a debtor’s petition, the creditors mentioned in the bankrupt’s statement of affairs and the creditors who have filed the proof of debts, and the bankrupt; or (b) in the case of a creditor’s petition, the petitioner, the creditors mentioned in the bankrupt’s statement of affairs and the creditors who have filed the proof of debts, and the bankrupt, to a meeting of creditors by giving not less than seven days’ notice of the time and place thereof in the prescribed manner. 3. The Director General of Insolvency shall also, as soon as practicable, send to each creditor mentioned in the debtor’s statement of affairs a notice of the time and place of the meeting, accompanied by a summary of the debtor’s statement of affairs, including the cause of his failure and any observations thereon which the Director General of Insolvency thinks fit to make; but the proceedings at the meeting shall not be invalidated by reason of any such notice or summary not having been sent or received before the meeting. 4. The meeting shall be held at such place or in such manner including the use of remote communication technology as is, in the opinion of the Director General of Insolvency, convenient for the majority of the creditors. 5. The Director General of Insolvency shall summon a meeting of creditors whenever so directed by the court, or so requested in writing by at least one-fourth in value of the creditors or by the consultative committee. 6. Any meeting of creditors subsequent to the meeting mentioned in paragraph 2 shall be summoned by the Director General of Insolvency by sending not less than three days’ notice of the time and place thereof to each creditor at the address given in his proof of debt or, if he has not proved, at the address given in the debtor’s statement of affairs, or at such other address as is known to the Director General of Insolvency. 7. The Director General of Insolvency, or in his absence some person nominated by him, shall be the chairman at every meeting of creditors; provided that if the court so directs, the chairman at any meeting of creditors shall be such person as the meeting by ordinary resolution appoints. 8. A person shall not be entitled to vote as a creditor at any meeting of creditors unless he has duly proved a debt provable in bankruptcy to be due to him from the bankrupt and the proof has been duly lodged before the time appointed for the meeting. 9. A creditor shall not vote at any such meeting in respect of any unliquidated or contingent debt. 10. For the purposes of voting a secured creditor shall, unless he surrenders his security, state in his proof the particulars of his security, the date when it was given and the value at which he assesses it, and shall be entitled to vote only in respect of the balance, if any, due to him after deducting the value of his security. If he votes in respect of his whole debt he shall be deemed to have surrendered his security unless the court, on application, is satisfied that the omission to value the security has arisen from inadvertence. 11. A creditor shall not vote in respect of any debt on or secured by a current bill of exchange or promissory note held by him, unless he is willing to treat the liability to him thereon of every person who is liable thereon antecedently to the bankrupt and against whom a bankruptcy order has not been made as a security in his hands and to estimate the value thereof, and for the purposes of voting, but not for the purposes of dividend, to deduct it from his proof. 12. It shall be competent to the Director General of Insolvency, within twenty-eight days after a proof estimating the value of a security as aforesaid has been made use of in voting at any meeting, to require the creditor to give up the security for the benefit of the creditors generally on payment of the value so estimated with an addition thereto of twenty per centum: Provided that where a creditor has put a value on the security he may, at any time before he has been required to give up the security as aforesaid, correct the valuation by a new proof and deduct the new value from his debt, but in that case the addition of twenty per centum shall not be made if the Director General of Insolvency requires the security to be given up. 13. If a bankruptcy order is made against one partner of a firm, any creditor to whom that partner is indebted jointly with the other partners of the firm or any of them may prove his debt for the purpose of voting at any meeting of creditors, and shall be entitled to vote thereat. 14. The chairman of a meeting shall have power to admit or reject a proof for the purpose of voting, but his decision shall be subject to appeal to the court. If he is in doubt whether the proof of a creditor should be admitted or rejected, he shall mark the proof as objected to and shall allow the creditor to vote, subject to the vote being declared invalid in the event of the objection being sustained. 15. A creditor may vote either in person or by proxy. 16. Every instrument of proxy shall be in the prescribed form and shall be issued by the Director General of Insolvency, and every insertion therein shall be in the handwriting of the person giving the proxy, or if such person is unable to write English then in the handwriting of the Director General of Insolvency or of a Commissioner for Oaths. 17. A creditor may give a general proxy to his manager or clerk or any other person in his regular employment. In that case the instrument of proxy shall state the relation in which the person to act thereunder stands to the creditor. 18. A creditor may give a special proxy to any person to vote at any specified meeting or adjournment thereof for or against any specific resolution. 19. A proxy shall not be used unless it is deposited with the Director General of Insolvency before the meeting at which it is to be used. 20. A creditor may appoint the Director General of Insolvency to act in manner prescribed as his general or special proxy. 21. The chairman of a meeting may with the consent of the meeting adjourn the meeting from time to time and from place to place. 22. A meeting shall not be competent to act for any purpose except the election of a chairman, the proving of debts and the adjournment of the meeting, unless there are present or represented thereat at least three creditors, or all the creditors if their number does not exceed three. 23. If within half an hour from the time appointed for the meeting a quorum of creditors is not present or represented, the meeting shall be adjourned to the same day in the following week at the same time and place, or to such other day as the chairman may appoint, not being less than seven or more than twenty-one days. If a meeting is adjourned for want of quorum and if at the adjourned meeting a quorum of creditors is not present, the chairman shall proceed with the meeting. 24. The chairman of every meeting shall cause minutes of the proceedings at the meeting to be drawn up and fairly entered in a book kept for that purpose, and the minutes shall be signed by him. 25. No person acting under either a general or a special proxy shall vote in favour of any resolution which would directly or indirectly place himself, his partner or employer in a position to receive any remuneration out of the estate of the bankrupt otherwise than as a creditor rateably with the other creditors of the bankrupt. SCHEDULE B [Deleted by Act A1534] *NOTE—see section 17 of the Insolvency (Amendment) Act 2023 [Act A1695] w.e.f. 6 October 2023 which provides the following provision: