Revision Of Laws Ordinance, 1992

A reference in this Ordinance to the “Yang di-Pertua

Negeri” shall be construed as a reference to the Yang di-Pertua

Negeri acting in accordance with the advice of the Majlis

Mesyuarat Kerajaan Negeri or of a member thereof acting under the general authority of the Majlis.

Appointment of Commissioner

The Yang di-Pertua Negeri may appoint any person temporarily to exercise the functions of the Commissioner during the period in which the Commissioner is for any reason unable to exercise his functions or during the period of absence of the Commissioner on leave and such person shall, during the period in which he is exercising the functions of the Commissioner under this subsection, be deemed to be the Commissioner.

The Commissioner and the acting Commissioner shall be paid such remuneration and allowances as the Yang di-Pertua Negeri may determine.

Appointment of Committee

the State Attorney-General, as Chairman; and

not less than three and not more than five other members to be appointed by the Chief Judge by notification published in the Gazette.

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Every appointed member of the Committee shall be appointed from amongst persons who in the opinion of the Chief

Judge are suitably qualified for the purpose of examining copies of revised laws in draft.

If, owing to absence or inability to act due to illness or any other cause, the Chairman of the Committee is unable to preside at any meeting the members present shall elect one of their members to preside at that meeting.

Every appointed member of the Committee shall hold office for a period of two years and shall be eligible for re-appointment:

Provided that the Chief Judge may terminate the appointment of an appointed member, and any appointed member may resign, at any time.

Any legally qualified officer of the State Attorney-General’s Chambers who has been designated by the State Attorney-General shall be the Secretary to the Committee, but the officer so designated shall not be a member of the Committee.

[Am. Cap. A20.]

Printing of revised law

to omit from any revised law—

any repealing Ordinance, any repealing provision contained in any Ordinance or any table or list of repealed Ordinances, whether contained in a schedule or otherwise;

any provision contained in any Ordinance prescribing the date when a law or part thereof is to come into force or operation:

Provided that the date on which the law or part thereof came into force or operation is inserted by the

Commissioner in square brackets immediately following the long title of the revised law;

any provision referring to any matter for which provision is made in identical or similar terms in the law applicable for the interpretation of the law after it has been revised:

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Provided that the provisions relating to the construction of amending laws contained in the law applicable for the interpretation of laws shall apply to such omissions in the same way as if the provision omitted had been repealed; and

partly in the Concurrent or Federal List;

or

partly in the Concurrent List and partly in the Federal List, all provisions other than those which refer to matters in the

State List:

Provided that with respect to any law in force consequent upon powers conferred by an Act of Parliament passed pursuant to Article 76A, or by an Order made under

Article 95C, of the Constitution of Malaysia, the

Commissioner may, after consultation with the Attorney-General of Malaysia, include in the revised law provisions other than those which refer to matters on the State List;

to arrange the grouping and sequence of revised laws and to give chapter, serial or other numbers thereto;

to make such formal alterations to any law as are necessary or expedient for the purpose of securing uniformity of expression; or to bring the law into conformity with the provisions of the law applicable for the interpretation of the law after it has been revised;

to adopt a convenient standard form in all revised laws for—

the interpretation section;

to add a long title or a short title to any law and to alter the long title or short title of any law;

to supply or alter tables of contents, chronological tables, references and notes:

Provided that such tables of contents, chronological tables, references and notes shall not form any part of the law in which they appear;

to consolidate into one law any two or more laws or part thereof in pari materia relating to matters with respect to which the Legislature of the State has power to make laws, making such alterations and modifications as are thereby rendered necessary in the consolidated Ordinance, and appointing such date for the coming into force thereof as may seem most convenient, and to incorporate all or any of the provisions of any law in one or more other laws where the provisions so incorporated relate to the same subject-matter as the law in which they are incorporated;

to divide any law into two or more laws and to make such amendments, including the supplying of titles, or the alteration of existing titles, as are thereby rendered necessary;

to add to or to omit from any law any provision required to be added or omitted, or to substitute for any provision of any law any provision required to be substituted, in consequence of any amendment made to that law by any other law or by any authority under powers conferred by law;

to delete any words, expressions, nomenclature or other provisions in any law which have expired or become obsolete, including references to repealed laws, and to substitute therefor, where necessary, appropriate words, expressions, nomenclature or provisions or references to the appropriate laws;

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to transfer any provision contained in a law from that law to any other law to which that provision more properly belongs, making any alterations thereby rendered necessary;

to alter the order of the provisions in any law, and to re-number the provisions of any law;

to alter the form or arrangement of any provision of any law by transposing words, by combining it in whole or in part with another provision or other provisions or by dividing it into two or more provisions;

to divide any law, whether consolidated or not, into parts or other divisions;

to correct grammatical, typographical and similar mistakes and for that purpose to make verbal additions, omissions, or alterations not affecting the meaning of any law;

to alter, insert or omit punctuation marks in any law;

to make such formal alterations as to names, localities, departments, offices, titles and otherwise as may be necessary to bring any law into conformity with the circumstances of the

Federation on the date on which the law in its revised form is to come into force;

to make such adaptations or amendments in any law as may appear to be necessary or proper as a consequence of any change in the constitution of the Federation or of the State of

Sarawak or any part of the Commonwealth;

to correct cross-references including references to the laws of other territories;

to correct references to repealed laws by replacing such references by references to the substituted laws, for which purpose it is declared that a law is deemed to be substituted for another law where it is expressly stated in the subsequent law that it is so replaced, or where the subsequent law re-enacts with or without modification any provision of a repealed law;

(tA) to update the terminology and spelling in the national language text of any law so that they are consistent with the terminology and spelling approved by the Dewan Bahasa dan

Pustaka;

[Ins. Cap. A72.]

to shorten or simplify the phraseology of any law;

to repeal or amend any Ordinance in consequence of the preparation of a revised law;

to appoint the date on which a revised law shall come into force:

Provided that such date shall not be earlier than the date on which the revised law is published in the Gazette;

to do all other things relating to the form and method reasonably necessitated by or consequential upon the exercise by the Commissioner of any of the powers conferred upon him by this section or which may be necessary for the perfecting of a revised law.

In subsection (1) “amendment” includes, where it is used in relation to the powers conferred upon the Commissioner, any variation of any law which is necessary for giving effect to any enactment in any other law whereby the scope, effect or construction of any provision of the first mentioned law is varied, modified, enlarged, restricted, qualified or otherwise affected.

The powers conferred on the Commissioner by subsection

shall not be taken to imply any power in him to make any alteration or amendment in the substance of any law.

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Method of compiling a revised law

on the front page thereof—

the expression “Laws of Sarawak”;

a list of the laws by which the law has been amended up to the date of its revision showing the dates on which the amendments came into force;

a list of the laws or parts thereof which the revised law supersedes or repeals.

Examination by the Committee

The validity of any certificate given by the Committee under subsection (1) shall not be affected by any vacancy in the membership of the Committee or by the inability of any member thereof to give his opinion by reason of temporary absence, indisposition or any other cause.

Revised law to comply with Committee’s opinion

On and after the date from which a revised law comes into force, such revised law shall be deemed to be and shall be without any question whatsoever in all courts and for all purposes whatsoever the sole and only proper law in respect of matters included therein and in force on that date.

Completion of revision of pre-1993 laws to be notified in Gazette

The provisions of this Ordinance relating to the preparation and publication of a revised law, but not the provisions relating to examination by the Committee, shall apply with any necessary modifications to the preparation and publication of revised subsidiary legislation.

Reprint of laws

amendments effected by any law; and

amendments made by the Commissioner under the powers conferred upon him by subsection (2), and any copy of a reprint purporting to be printed in accordance with this section shall be deemed, until the contrary is shown, to be the authentic text of the law as in force, except in so far as may be specified in the copy, on such date as may be so specified.

In preparing a reprint the Commissioner shall have the powers contained in paragraphs (f), (i), (o), (p), (q), (r), (s), (t) and (tA)

of section 6(1).

[Am. Cap. A72.]

Publication volume by volume

Any volume of a reprint may contain such tables, appendices and other supplementary matter, including an index, as the

Commissioner may consider necessary.

[Ins. Cap. A72.]

Updating of reprints

An order made under subsection (1) shall have the force of law with effect from the date referred to in section 7(a)(iv).

Reference to number of lines in any law

The next law to be issued which may be a revised law or a new law enacted after the coming into force of this Ordinance shall be numbered “Chapter 2”. Each such law shall form a separate Chapter and the Chapters shall be numbered consecutively. It will be issued in a form of a separate booklet with holes punched to enable it to be easily placed in or removed from a volume.

Printing, distribution and sale of revised laws and the reprint

For the avoidance of doubt, it is declared that subsection

does not authorize the appointment of the Commissioner except in so far as to authorize the temporary appointment of such person until appointed under this Ordinance.

Repeal