CHIEF Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat has ordered the adjournment of all civil and criminal cases scheduled to be heard from tomorrow until March 31, with the new dates to be set later.

The directive comes in the wake of the movement-control order issue by Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin last night to contain the spread of Covid-19.

As of yesterday, Malaysia has recorded 553 infections.

The announcement of Tengku Maimun’s directive was made by Federal Court chief registrar Ahmad Terrirudin Mohd Salleh, who said the order applies to all courts nationwide.

The affected trials’ replacement dates will be determined later, he said.

Tengku Maimun’s order means that former prime minister Najib Razak’s 1Malaysia Development Bhd trial, in which he faces 25 charges of power abuse and money-laundering relating to RM2.3 billion in the state investor’s funds, is once again postponed.

The trial was to have resumed on Thursday.

Terrirudin, in a circular today, said the filing of civil cases, notice appeals and other court documents can still be done through the e-filing system.

For courts that do not have the eKehakiman system, filings can be done only starting April 1.

Other procedures during the movement-control order enforcement period are as follows:

– Urgent cases can be filed at the nearest court with the eKehakiman system. For example, a cause of action in Bangi can be filed using the eKehakiman system in Shah Alam;

– For cases with certificates of urgency at the Federal Court, the deputy registrar will handle them directly and obtain further instructions from the chief justice;

– Cases with certificates of urgency at other courts are to follow the same procedure with their respective registrars, with further instructions to be obtained from the Court of Appeal president for the appellate court, the presiding high court judge for the high court, and the state court director for the sessions court;

– Case management done via e-review will proceed as usual, while that done manually will be adjourned to a later date; and,

– The remand and bail processes will continue as usual. – March 17, 2020.