Commissioner for Oaths-Miscellany

Part XII  of the Commissioners for Oaths,1993 discusses the forms in the Schedule, a saving provision and a repeal of an earlier set of rules.
 

Rule 23 refers to the 10 forms in the Schedule.

What are these forms?

Form 1: This is the form used when someone applies to become a Commissioner of Oaths. It lists the particulars of the applicant and the documents that must be supplied along with his or her application. It also incorporates a Statutory Declaration to be made by the applicant.

Form 2:  This form is used in the appointment of a Commissioner for Oaths for a public officer. A recent photograph must be attached to the form and the appointment will be signed by the Chief Registrar of the Supreme Court of Malaysia.

Form 3: This form is used in the appointment of a Commissioner for Oaths for other persons not a public officer. . A recent photograph must be attached to the form and the appointment will be signed by the Chief Registrar of the Supreme Court of Malaysia.

Form 4:  This is a reappointment application to be a Commissioner for Oaths. Apart from the need to furnish personal particulars again, the applicant must enclosed a money order/crossed cheque of RM120.00/RM240. A Statutory Declaration is also required in this application.

Form 5:  This form explains what are the information to be placed on an identification tag, the colour of the background as well as wordings and the dimensions of the tag.

Form 6: This form shows what a julat is and what is the text required in a julat.

Form 7: This form shows what should be written in a register to be kept by a Commissioner. It must have information like the date when a person seeks your service, his name and identity card/passport number, the nature of the documents administered, the number of exhibits, the fees charged and the signature of the deponent or maker of the document.

Form 8:  This form is the Report of by a court officer duly delegated to do such an inspection and investigation.

Form 9:  This form describes the technical specification of the seal of a Commissioner other than a public officer.

Form 9A: This form describes the technical specification of the seal of a Commissioner who is a public officer.

Pay the Penalty

Every Commissioner for Oaths must be responsible and act in that manner too. 

Any infraction in behaviour or of the Commissioners for Oaths rules, 1993 and you will pay the penalty.

Part XI expressly states that a Commissioner who fails to comply with the following rules 11,12,14,15,16,19 and 21 will have to ‘face the music’. When he is found guilty for any of these offences and convicted, he can be fined not exceeding RM1, 000 or to an imprisonment term not exceeding 6 months. He can also be both fined and imprisoned.

Let us look what are these Rules.

Rule 11: An offence to function as a Commissioner who are also solicitors and advocates for persons  if they are representing such persons in court as their solicitor and advocate.

Rule 12: An offence to function as a Commissioner for Rule 12 (a) and 12(b) for documents prepared by the Commissioner himself/herself.

Rule 13: For poor conduct and negligently performing duties as a Commissioner.

Rule 14: For not maintaining a register or poorly maintaining one and not submitting it to the Registrar on time or on request.

Rule 15:  For changing address of business without prior consent of the Lord President in writing.

Rule16: Not displaying the letter of appointment in the specified form and manner.

Rule 19: Seal and identification numbers not in order as specified by Rule 19.

Rule 21: Not following the rate of fees and conditions for receiving such fees

The Fees Paid for Services

This is,as usual, ought to be the most interesting part of the job, I should say. However, the scale of fees currently is not too attractive and perhaps should be revised with the time of hyper inflation that we know
now.

Let us see what are the kinds of fees that a Commissioner for Oath recieved for his official functions and duties.

Rule 21 of Part X on "Fees' stipulates in sub-rule (1) that the fee to be levied by a Commissioner for Oath shall not exceed-
(a) four ringgit for taking an original affidavit and shall not exceed two ringgit on each exhibit referred to therein and required to be marked.
(b)two ringgit for marking any duplicate or photostat copy of the affidavit and one ringgit on each copy of exhibit referred to therein.


And for public officer,watch out for this caveat.

An affidavit that has been declared by law to be exempt from payment of stamp duty shall be exempt from any fee when the affidavit is taken by a Commissioner for Oath who is a public officer.

The fee chargeable under sub-rule (1) will be as follow:

Sub-rule 2(a) states that the fee charged by a public offcier in the course of performing the funcitons as a Commissioner for Oaths shall be collected praecipe and shall form part of the Federal consolidated Fund.

Sub-rule 2(b) states clearly that the fees charged by any other persons in the course of performing the functions of a Commissioner for Oath is to be retained by him or her.

So, do you think it is high time for an upward revision of fees?

The Commissioners's Seal and Identification Number

Yes, we are back to look at the seal and identification number of a Commissioner for Oath. Part IX of the Commissioners for Oath Rules, 1993 tells you about the provision of an identification number and the seal of the Commissioner.

Rule 19(1) states that every Commissioner shall have a seal as prescribed in Form 9  which must incorporate his identification number and name.

According to Amendment (1A) [Ins. P.U. 26/96], every public offcier appointed as a Commissioner shall have a seal as prescribed in Form 9A in corporating the Commissioner's identification number, his name and the name of the department where he works currently.

Sub-rule (2) states that the Commissioner's identification number shall be thatwhich is stated in his letter of appointment.

Rule 19 tells us about the 'Proof of Oath'. It states clearly that no oath shall be deemed to have been duly administered unless the Commissioner's seal has been affixed to, and the Commissioner has signed the document,deed or instrument in respect of which the oath was administered.


This is a simple section more of form  then of substance.

Breached and You Are Beached

This is the punishment bit. Screw up and you are booted out.

If you want to be a good Commissioner for Oath, play by the rules.

Part VIII tells you how your appointment can be revoked by the Lord President (LP).

In Rule 18(1),the LP can revoke your appointment for the breach of any of the rules of the Commissioners for Oath Rules,1993. He can do so for any other cause as well.

When a Commissioner for Oath is charged with any criminal offence or served with any bankruptcy proceedings he shall forthwith according to Rule 18(2), provide the LP with details of such charge or action brought against him. Again, it is up to the discretion of the LP to suspend his appointment pending the outcome of such criminal or bankruptcy proceedigns.

When he is convicted for any criminal offense or adjudicated a bankrupt, his appointment as a Commissioner will automatically be revoked [(Rule 18(3)].

So, do not commit any crimes and do not be over-geared in loans.

He is Right,You Know.....

Dr Mahathir said mastering English is crucial if Malaysian students want to excel. He is right, you know...

Mastering the English language will not make one less patriotic as English is currently the language of knowledge, says former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad.

“This is the reality that we have to face if we want to understand Science and Mathematics for the betterment of our lives, and to build the nation towards becoming a developed nation, we have to understand foreign languages.

“If today, we decide to learn Science and Mathematics in English, it does not mean we are less patriotic,” he said .

“Both Science and Mathematics are not static subjects but expanded through time with numerous research and inventions, producing hundreds of research papers which are all in English.

 “Without the ability to translate all this new knowledge, the Malays will be left behind in some of the most important fields,” Mahathir said.

He said those who understood the subjects and could translate them would not be interested to be translators their entire life, adding science would still progress after their deaths and newer works would need translation.

“Mastering English is very important, and those who don’t understand English would lose out in terms of new scientific findings.”

Mahathir felt that a language of a people was only learned by foreigners if the former had progressed and were known for their knowledge and research, citing the Europeans in the 15th century having to learn Arabic as the Muslim civilisation then was vast and well respected.

Sadly, in 2010, the government announced that it would revert to the teaching of the two subjects in the Malay language in national schools and the students’ mother tongue (Mandarin or Tamil) in national-type Chinese and Tamil schools from 2011 following the abolishment of the policy of teaching and learning Science and Mathematics in English (PPSMI).

The government also then announced the strategy of upholding the Malay language and strengthening the command of English in schools.

I wonder whether we are going back to the same mistakes when the standard of English went down the chute after nationalism took the driver's seat; way, way before  Mahathir reverted the teaching of Science and Maths to English.

Expect A Surprise Visit from Officers of the High Court

Yes, expect a unannounced surprise call at your office from an officer of the court from time to time.

This is provided for under Part VII of the Commissioners for Oath Rules,1993.

Let us study this Part and be familiar with it  This Part touches on the maintenance of a register recording your services,the notice of a change in address.displaying the letter of appointment and the power of inspection by the High Court.

First, let us look at what is this register.

Rule 14 (1) states that a Commissioner shall maintain a register wherein is recorded all the particulars of the services he has rendered. This will include all affirmations,declarations,acknowledgments,affidavits and other instruments upon which a Commissioner has placed his seal. A sample of a page of a register is shown in Form 7. The heading should read:

Courts of Judicature Act, 1964
Commissioners for Oath Rules 1993(Rule14)
Register to be maintained by a |Commissioner for Oath

It has six columns and has are ruled across under the headings.

Let us study what is written in the column heads. The first column is for entry dates. The second column is for the person who require your service to write his or her name and their identity card numbers. Then we have the third column stating the nature of document,affidavit,statutory declaration and others. In the fourth column, you would have to write the number of exhibits that is involved. The fifth column records the fees charged in Malaysian ringgits and sen. Finally, all recipients of services must sign their names in the sixth column.

And where must this register be kept? It must be kept at hte place of business of the commissioner during business hours.(Rule14(2).

According to Rule 14(3), a Commissioner for Oath must submit that register to the Lord president before the first day of February of each year and shall make it available to the Lord President at any time upon his request.

Rule 15 is very strict. It states in no uncertain terms that no Commissioner can change his place of business without the prior approval in writing of the lord President.

Rule 16 instructs a Commissioner who is not a public officer on the manner of displaying his letter of appointment. It must be placed in a place which is visible in his office. He must  do the following:

(a) use a photostat of the letter of the appointment for display
(b)display the text of Rule 11 or Rule 12 whichever is relevant to him or her as a Commissioner
(c)put a sign not exceeding 40 cm by 50 cm in sizer to indicate a Commissioner for Oath is available at the location.

The powers to conduct surprise visit on any Commissioner for Oath is provided for under Rule 17.

Rule 17(1) states that the Registrar of the High court, any Deputy Registrar, the Senior Assistant Registrar of the Supreme court or of the High Court authorised by the Lord President may inspect hte register kept by the Commissioer during business hours of the commissioner and shall sign the register showing the date and time of such inspection.

Rule 17(2) spells out that after conducting such investigations under sub-rule (1),the officer shall submit to the Chief Registrar of the Supreme Court a report in Form 8 within one week of conducting such investigation.

Let us look at Form 8. This form has been formatted under Rule 17(2).

The heading the report reads," REPORT OF INSPECTION"

The body of hte letter reads as follows:

To:

The Chief Registrar,
supreme court,
Malaysia

On .............................at...................I inspected the register kept by Commissioner of Oath Encik/Cik/Puan .....................................................Identification No. .....................................at his/her business address No...................................................................................................

In the course of the inspection, I observed him/her conducting his/her business and I find that-

(a)he/she has complied with the Commissioners for Oath Rules 1993;

or

(b)he/she has committed breaches of the following rules:

(i)......................................................................................
(ii).....................................................................................
(iii)....................................................................................
(The reporting officer may give details,if necessary).

Date:...........................  
..............................................
Registrar,Deputy Registrar,Senior Assistant Registrar

So, the visits are the checks and balance.