Like the Legal Aid Centre (LAC), which is run by the Malaysian Bar Association, the JBG provides free legal advice and representation to people who meet their qualification criteria. In addition, they also offer subsidized legal services, and if you don`t qualify either, they always provide advice. This legal aid derives from the Legal Aid Act 1971 (LAA 1971) and provides legal services to Malaysians at a subsidized price. This means that you will still have to pay a certain amount, but it would be considerably cheaper than hiring your own lawyer. In short, civil cases are when you sue another person for things like breach of contract, custody, etc. Criminal cases, on the other hand, occur when you have been charged with committing a crime and the government is suing you. Remember that legal aid is different from pro bono services. Legal aid is provided by the three above-mentioned bodies by their roster lawyers, while pro bono work is provided by individual lawyers at their own expense. In short, legal aid is an institution (sort of) and pro bono is done by individuals. Another thing you need to keep in mind is that since this is only a subsidized service, you may have to pay a certain amount to the LAD. This is in addition to the RM10 you will have to pay for registration, and the amount to be paid depends on your annual salary as well as your individual case. As you can see in the image below, your legal aid is free if you earn less than RM30,000 per year.

JBG provides legal advice on all aspects of the law. However, they only provide representation for certain types of cases. The main difference between the JBG and the LAC is that the JBG only represents clients in criminal cases where the client pleads guilty. The exceptions are minor crimes (Kesalahan kecil jenayah) and children`s crimes (Jenayah kanak-kanak). The next legal aid provider, the Bar Council of Malaysia, works a little differently – You may even have been taken to the police station as a suspect and wanted a lawyer to advise you on your rights, but you didn`t know if you could afford to pay for it. The Legal Aid Department (LAD) provides legal advice to all Malaysian citizens. Legal advice may be provided on all matters on the basis of the Fourth Schedule to the Legal Aid Act 1971 (“the Act”). Legal advice consists of oral advice on legal issues related to Malaysian law. There is a RM10 registration fee for this service. Another thing to note is that you do not have to pay legal fees under LAC.

It is absolutely free and even covers foreigners with and without papers (unlike the LAD which is only reserved for Malaysians). You can read more about the differences between LAD and DAC here. The second is the Bar Council and they have offices in the different states of Malaysia. The Bar Council is funded by members of the Bar Association and provides legal assistance in the areas of family law, labour law and criminal matters. This means that the test is essentially to determine whether your financial resources are within the limits required before you receive legal aid. Legal Aid allows you to try an online test to determine if you qualify for legal aid because of your financial capacity, but do not be discouraged if the results show that you are not eligible for legal aid because the results of the online test are not considered final. To register for legal aid, you will need to go to one of their branches (the full list can be found here) and register there by filling out forms and paying the RM10 registration fee. As mentioned above, all three forms of legal aid organizations offer free legal advice, so if you ever find yourself in a difficult situation, please contact the following numbers: Recently, in 2017, the government introduced an amendment to the 1971 LAA introducing the legal escort service. The purpose of this legal escort service is to provide assistance and comfort to the guardian of a child who has been the victim of a crime. This legal guardian advises the child`s guardian, accompanies the child during legal proceedings and occasionally speaks on the child`s behalf. You can read the amendments here.

Jabatan Bantuan Guaman Malaysia (Legal Aid Bureau) is an organization that provides free legal aid to the general public in Malaysia. The Jabatan Bantuan Guaman Malaysia (JBG) is a government agency under the Bahagian Hal Ehwal Undang-Undang, Jabatan Perdana Menteri (Legal Affairs Division, Prime Minister`s Department) that provides legal advice and assistance to deserving members of the public. Ali can get a lawyer to reduce his sentence to a lighter sentence. If you earn less than RM 25,000 per year, legal aid is granted free of charge. However, if you earn between RM25,000 and RM36,000, you will be charged at a rate set by the YBGK Board of Directors. If you`re curious, Bar Council legal aid is funded entirely by lawyers, and you can find a list of their offices here. You can also read more about the programs they offer here. All three legal aid providers apply what is known as the means test.

The first thing you need to know is that legal aid is divided into: Ali could receive legal aid, although he has pleaded not guilty and will be tried. Both forms of legal aid are provided by three different legal aid agencies in Malaysia. In addition to civil and criminal cases, LAD also provides assistance for Sharia (civil law only) cases and mediation services for civil and Sharia cases. An important point is that, even if your case does not fall within the jurisdiction of the LAA, under the LAA 1971, you can apply to the Director General for an exemption. Legal aid granted by the Bar Council (LACÂ) covers only cases relating to family law, labour law, Sharia law and criminal cases. The first major difference is that, unlike the LAD, the LAC also covers criminal cases if the defendant pleads not guilty (he claims to be tried). Let`s optimize our example Ali above: Our law firm is committed to providing free legal advice if your legal problem is not complex and falls within the expertise of our firm. If you think your case is complicated, you are strongly advised to seek legal advice or representation to better understand your case. The legal aid granted by YBGK covers all stages of criminal cases, e.g.

arrest, pre-trial detention, bail application, mitigation. Any type of criminal case will be legally represented (if you pass the means test), with the exception of crimes related to the death penalty (such as murder). As mentioned earlier, there is a third legal aid organization called the. Do you have legal problems and are you looking for free online legal advice in Malaysia? Now that you know there are 3 types of legal aid services, let`s move on to the most important things, how to qualify and what you need to do. We will address these issues under separate headings for each legal aid centre. However, there is one super important thing that you will see throughout the article, and that is. During the examination on the merits, the legal aid services will in principle examine the merits of your case and check whether there are sufficient grounds for granting you legal aid. This essentially means that if you go to legal aid services for help with a frivolous claim, you will not receive any help. The YBGK does not have a merit test because you have the right to be represented by a lawyer in criminal matters if you choose to be represented. Although LAC does not charge a single penny for your legal fees, you will have to pay the filing fee in court.