Malaysia legislation
Section 4
Section 4
The principal Act is amended by inserting after section 4b the following sections:
“Administration of Voluntary Fire Brigade 4ba. (1) A Voluntary Fire Brigade shall have a constitution in the form as may be determined by the Director General.
(2)
A Voluntary Fire Brigade shall be administered by a committee elected in accordance with the constitution of the Voluntary Fire Brigade.
Power of Registrar to request for information 4bb. The Registrar may request from any Voluntary Fire
Brigade any information or document as the Registrar deems necessary in relation to the administration of the Voluntary
Fire Brigade in order to satisfy himself that the administration of the Voluntary Fire Brigade is made in accordance with this
Act and the standing orders issued under section 7b.
Provisions applicable to Voluntary Fire Brigade 4 b c. (1) The following provisions shall apply to a Voluntary Fire Brigade:
(a)
the movable property of a Voluntary Fire Brigade, if not vested in the trustees, shall be deemed to be vested in the committee of the Voluntary Fire Brigade, and may, in all civil and criminal proceedings, be described as the property of the committee of the Voluntary Fire Brigade;
(b)
the immovable property of a Voluntary Fire Brigade may, if not registered in the name of trustees, notwithstanding the provisions of any written law to the contrary, be registered in the name of the Voluntary Fire Brigade, and all instruments relating to the property shall be valid and effective as if the instruments had been executed by three committee
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office-bearers of the Voluntary Fire Brigade for the time being, and whose appointments are authenticated by a certificate of the Registrar, and sealed by the Voluntary Fire Brigade;
(c)
a Voluntary Fire Brigade may sue or be sued in the name of such one of any committee office-bearers as shall be declared to the Registrar;
(d)
no suit or proceeding by or against a Voluntary Fire
Brigade in any civil court shall abate or discontinue by reason of the person by or against whom the suit or proceeding has been brought or continued, dying or ceasing to fill the character in the name whereof he has sued or been sued, but the same suit or proceeding shall be continued in the name of or against the successor of that person;
(e)
no judgment in any such suit against a Voluntary
Fire Brigade shall be put into force against the person or property of the person sued but against the property of the Voluntary Fire Brigade; and
(f)
the application for execution of a judgment shall set forth the judgment, the fact of the party against whom it has been recovered having sued or having been sued, as the case may be, on behalf of the
Voluntary Fire Brigade, and shall require to have the judgment enforced against the property of the
Voluntary Fire Brigade.
(2)
Any member of a Voluntary Fire Brigade who—
(a)
fails to pay a subscription in accordance with the constitution of the Voluntary Fire Brigade;
(b)
owes money to the Voluntary Fire Brigade;
(c)
takes possession or detains any property of the Voluntary Fire Brigade contrary to the constitution of the Voluntary Fire Brigade; or
(d)
injures or destroys any property of the Voluntary
Fire Brigade,
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may be sued for the subscription or money or for the damage accruing from that wrongful possession, detention, injury or destruction of property.
(3)
For the purposes of subsection (2), if the member referred to in subsection (2) is successful in that suit and is awarded costs, the member may elect to recover the costs from the person in whose name the suit was brought or from the Voluntary Fire Brigade and, in the latter case, may have execution against the property of the Voluntary Fire Brigade.
Financial resources of Voluntary Fire Brigade 4bd. (1) A Voluntary Fire Brigade may carry out any activity to obtain financial resources for the Voluntary Fire Brigade provided that the activity shall be consistent with the standing orders issued under section 7b.
(2)
The Director General may, with the approval of the Minister and with the concurrence of the Minister of Finance, provides financial assistance to any Voluntary Fire Brigade.
Production of information to Registrar by Voluntary Fire
Brigade 4be.
Every Voluntary Fire Brigade shall produce to the Registrar within sixty days after the holding of its annual general meeting or if no annual general meeting is held, within sixty days after the end of each calendar year—
(a)
a true and complete copy of any amendments to the constitution of the Voluntary Fire Brigade made since the date of registration or the date of the last return;
(b)
a true and complete list of office-bearers and the number of members of the Voluntary Fire Brigade at the date of such return;
(c)
the particulars of the address or the place of business of the Voluntary Fire Brigade;
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(d)
the accounts of the last financial year of the
Voluntary Fire Brigade together with a balance s h e e t s h o w i n g t h e f i n a n c i a l p o s i t i o n at the close of the last financial year of the Voluntary Fire Brigade;
(e)
the particulars of the name and address of any society, association or any other body of persons, incorporated or unincorporated, outside Malaysia to which the Voluntary Fire Brigade is in any way collaborated;
(f)
the description of any money or property, any benefit or financial gain received by the Voluntary Fire
Brigade from any source outside Malaysia or within
Malaysia and other relevant particulars; and
(g)
such other information as the Registrar may require.
Dispute 4bf. (1) Every Voluntary Fire Brigade shall resolve any dispute arising among its members in accordance with the procedure as may be determined by the Director General.
(2)
If a dispute cannot be resolved in accordance with the procedure as determined under subsection (1), any aggrieved member or the Voluntary Fire Brigade itself may refer the dispute to the Registrar for his decision.
(3)
Any party to the dispute aggrieved by the decision made by the Registrar under subsection (2) may appeal to the Minister and the decision of the Minister shall be final.
Cancellation of registration of Voluntary Fire Brigade 4bg. (1) Subject to subsection (2), the Registrar may cancel the registration of a Voluntary Fire Brigade which—
(a)
has contravened any provision of this Act or standing orders issued under section 7b;
Fire Services (Amendment)
(b)
has breached any condition of the registration as prescribed by the Minister; or
(c)
has been convicted of an offence under this Act.
(2)
Prior to the registration of a Voluntary Fire Brigade being cancelled under subsection (1), the Registrar shall, by notice in writing, give an opportunity to the Voluntary
Fire Brigade to show cause against the cancellation, and pending the decision of the cancellation, the registration of the Voluntary Fire Brigade shall be suspended from the date of receipt of the notice.
(3)
A Voluntary Fire Brigade whose registration is cancelled shall be deemed to have been dissolved and the Voluntary Fire Brigade shall not be entitled to any compensation for any loss caused by the cancellation.
(4)
Any Voluntary Fire Brigade aggrieved by the decision made by the Registrar under subsection (1) may appeal to the Minister and the decision of the Minister shall be final.
Consequences of cancellation of registration of Voluntary
Fire Brigade 4bh. (1) Upon the cancellation of the registration of a Voluntary
Fire Brigade by the Registrar, the following consequences shall occur:
(a)
the property of the Voluntary Fire Brigade shall be immediately vested in the Director General of
Insolvency;
(b)
the Director General of Insolvency shall proceed to wind up the affairs of the Voluntary Fire Brigade, and after satisfying and providing for all debts and liabilities of the Voluntary Fire Brigade shall pay the surplus assets of the Voluntary Fire Brigade, if any, to the members of the Voluntary Fire Brigade in accordance with the constitution of the Voluntary
Fire Brigade; and
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(c)
for the purpose of the winding up the affairs of the Voluntary Fire Brigade, the Director General of Insolvency shall have all the powers which are vested in the Director General of Insolvency by any written law relating to bankruptcy for the purpose of the discovery and realization of the property of a debtor, and also such powers as are by any written law relating to companies vested in an official liquidator and all the provisions of the said laws relating to bankruptcy and to the winding up of companies, so far as the provisions relate to the discovery and realization of the property of a debtor and to the winding up of a company, shall apply, mutatis mutandis, to the winding up of the affairs of the Voluntary Fire Brigade under this Act.
(2)
Without prejudice to subsection (1), the Director General of Insolvency may order any party to manage the property of the Voluntary Fire Brigade until the winding up process is completed.”.
New sections 4da, 4db and 4dc