Dr.S. Sothi Rachagan and Susheela Nair
Like most ex-colonial territories, Malaysia emerged from colonial rule with laws identical in most aspects to that of the colonising country. This was so especially in relation to mercantile law. Sections 3 and 5 of the Civil Law Act 19561 provide for the reception of English common law and statutes in areas of mercantile law where there is no Malaysian statute. However, the law to be imported is the law "as would be administered in England in the like case on 7 April 1956 [the date the Act first came into force] if such issue had arisen in England". Unless the Malaysian Parliament enacts new laws or amends those inherited at the time of independence, the English law as at 7 April 1956 will apply