When Does A Bankrupty Action Commence?

The answer is seemingly obvious but, analogies apart, the authoritative determination of this issue is yet to be settled.

In the recent Court of Appeal decision of Liew Hon Kong v Bank Pertanian Malaysia Bhd [2022] 1 MLJ 836, the Court equated the issuance of the bankruptcy notice ("BN") to that of a Writ. The Court of Appeal held that the jurisdiction of the bankruptcy court is invoked on the issuance of the BN and that bankruptcy proceeding commences by the issuance of the BN.

With respect, this proposition may not hold in the face of statutory provisions and case laws.

(a) Under the Insolvency Act 1967 ("IA 1967"), there is sufficient legislative provisions to justify a contrary view to that taken by the Court of Appeal.