TAMPARULI: Consumers Claim Tribunal claimants can now enjoy free legal service when their cases are brought to court for judicial revision, thanks to the signing of an agreement between two organisations yesterday.
Under the signed Memorandum of Understanding, the Sabah Law Association (SLA) will be providing a pro bono services to the consumers, of which legal fee below RM500 will be reimbursed by Bank Kerjasama Rakyat Malaysia (Bank Rakyat) under its Dana Rakyat 1Malaysia (1Malaysia People’s Fund).
Deputy Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Minister Datuk Tan Lian Hoe, who witnessed the signing of MoU between SLA and Bank Rakyat at the Tun Hamdan Hall here yesterday, said a similar programme was also signed between the Malaysian Lawyers Council and Bank Rakyat.
“The same programme will also be extended to Sarawak soon,” she said.
Tan said consumers only pay RM5 to file claim cases at the Tribunal but will face higher cost when it is brought for judicial revision by the defendants.
Since its inception in 1999, the Malaysia Consumers Claims Tribunal (MCCT) has received a total of RM266,812,739.07 claims paid by defendants as of May 18 this year.
Of the figure, a total of RM145,693,714.54 awards have been issued to the claimants.
During the same period, a total of 58,370 cases have been registered with the Tribunal of which 57,121 cases or 97.86 per cent have been solved.
“Of the figure, a total of 130 cases have been referred for judicial revision at the High Court by the defendants,” said Tan.
As for Sabah, a total of 2,784 cases have been filed, of which 99.31 per cent of 2,765 cases have been solved.
To further improve its services to the people, especially those in the rural areas, the MCCT has taken the initiative to open new branches, of which a total of seven new sub-branches were launched last year.
“This year, 10 new branches will be opened and of the figure, five have been launched in Taiping and Manjung, Perak; Batu Pahat and Muar, Johor; and Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan.
“The Keningau Branch is expected to be launched soon,” said Tan.
Meanwhile, MCCT chairman Pretam Singh a/l Darshan Singh said the number of cases filed in the Tribunal saw an increase in the last four months this year compared to similar period in 2010.
He said between January and April this year, a total of 3,428 cases were filed, 1,599 cases more than 1,829 cases in 2010.
“We attribute the increase to public awareness, thanks to the programmes carried out by the ministry such as talks, seminars, briefing and also publicity by the mass media,” he said.