Malaysia legislation

Section 2

of *LABUAN OFFSHORES TRUSTS ACT 1996

Section 2

Interpretation

(a)

any act by a trustee which is in contravention of the duties imposed;

(b)

any act or neglect by a trustee which is not authorized or excused; or

(c)

any neglect or omission on the part of the trustee to fulfill the duties imposed upon him, by this Act, the proper law of the trust or the terms of the trust;

―charitable trust‖ means a trust referred to in section 11B;

―corporation‖ means a body corporate formed or incorporated or existing within Malaysia or outside Malaysia and includes a foreign

Labuan company but does not include—

(a)

a corporation sole;

(b)

a trade union registered under written law as a trade union; or

(c)

a society registered under any written law relating to co-operative societies;

―Court‖ means the High Court or a judge thereof;

―enforcer‖ means a person referred to in section 11C;

―Labuan‖ means the Federal Territory of Labuan;

―Labuan company‖ has the meaning assigned to it in the Labuan

Companies Act 1990 [Act 441];

―Labuan trust‖ has the meaning assigned to it under subsection 8(1);

―Labuan trust company‖ means a corporation registered as a Labuan trust company under Part V of the Labuan Financial Services and

Securities Act 2010 [Act 704];

―Malaysia‖ means the territories of the Federation of Malaysia, the territorial waters of Malaysia and the sea-bed and subsoil of the

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territorial waters, and includes any area extending beyond the limits of the territorial waters of Malaysia, and the sea-bed and subsoil of any such area, which has been or may hereafter be designated under the laws of Malaysia and in accordance with international law as an area over which Malaysia has sovereign rights for the purposes of exploring and exploiting the natural resources, whether living or non-living;

―Minister‖ means the Minister for the time being charged with the responsibility for finance;

―minor‖ means a person who has not attained the age of majority under the proper law of a trust or, where no law has been chosen, the law of his domicile;

―person‖ includes a corporation, a partnership, a body of persons, corporate or unincorporated, and a corporation sole;

―prescribed‖, where no mode is mentioned, means prescribed from time to time by order published in the Gazette, and a power to prescribe includes the power to make different provisions in the order for different persons or different classes, categories or descriptions of persons;

―proper law‖ means—

(a)

the law chosen by the settlor to be applicable to a trust, the choice being expressed or implied in the terms of the trust;

or

(b)

where no law is chosen, the law with which a trust is most closely connected at the time of its creation;

―property‖ includes—

(a)

property of every kind, whether corporeal or incorporeal, movable or immovable, tangible or intangible, however acquired; or

(b)

legal documents or instruments in any form, including electronic or digital, evidencing title to or interest in,

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such property, including bank cheques, money orders, shares, securities, bonds, bank drafts and letters of credit;

―protector‖ means a person appointed in accordance with section 35;

―purpose trust‖ means a trust referred to in section 11A, and includes a charitable trust;

―qualified person‖ means a person who is not a resident of

Malaysia;

―register‖ includes any kind of record;

―registered Labuan trust‖ means a Labuan trust registered under subsection 12(4);

―resident‖ means any person—

(a)

who is a citizen or permanent resident of Malaysia; or

(b)

who has established a place of business and is operating in Malaysia, other than—

(i)

a Labuan company or a foreign Labuan company incorporated or registered under the

Labuan Companies Act 1990;

(ii)

a Labuan foundation established under the

Labuan Foundations Act 2010 [Act 706]; and

(iii)

a partnership registered under the Labuan

Limited Partnerships and Limited Liability

Partnerships Act 2010 [Act 707], and includes a person who is declared to be a resident pursuant to section 43 of the Exchange Control Act 1953;

―ringgit‖ means a ringgit in the currency of Malaysia;

―settlor‖ means a person who makes a trust and includes a person who provides trust property or makes a testamentary disposition on

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trust or to a trust, but does not include a person who contributes to a unit trust;

―specified‖, where no mode is mentioned in this Act, means specified from time to time in writing, and a power to specify includes the power to specify differently for different persons or different classes, categories or description of persons;

―terms of the trust‖ means the written or oral terms of a trust or any other terms applicable under its proper law;

―trust‖ includes the trust property and the rights, powers, duties, interests, relationships and obligations under a trust;

―trust instrument‖ means an instrument by which a trust is created and includes a unilateral declaration of trust and any instrument varying the terms of the trust;

―trust property‖ means the property for the time being held on trust;

―trustee‖ means a person appointed to act as a trustee of a trust in accordance with the provisions of this Act;

―unilateral declaration of trust‖ has the meaning assigned to it by section 8;

―unit trust‖ means any trust established for the purpose, or having the effect, of providing facilities for the participation by persons as beneficiaries under the trust in any profits or income arising from the acquisition, holding, management or disposal of any property.

(2)

(Deleted by Act A1368).

(3)

Any reference in this Act to ―this Act‖ shall, unless otherwise expressly stated, be deemed to include a reference to any regulation, rule, order, notification or other subsidiary legislation made under this Act.

(4)

Words and expressions used in this Act with reference to any other law shall, so far as necessary to give effect to this Act and consistently with the provisions thereof, have the same meaning as they have in the law with reference to which they are used in this Act.

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Existence of a trust