REBRANDING EXERCISE TO HELP KLCRA REGAIN LOST GLORY

By Choong En Han

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 30 (Bernama) -- The Kuala Lumpur Regional Centre for
Arbitration (KLCRA), is back in business, after a rebranding exercise, to regain
its lost glory as the premier arbitration center in the Asia Pacific.

The move will also position Malaysia as among the top places for disputing
parties to seek arbitration as well as a renowned business centre, said KLCRA
Director Sundra Rajoo in an interview with Bernama.

"Relaying the message that we have changed, we will bombard arbitral bodies and
litigation lawyers around the world with our information kits telling them we
are back on the arbitration map," he said when touching on the centre's future
plans.

Founded in 1978, KLCRA comes under the auspices of the Asian-African Legal
Consultative Organisation (AALCO), an inter-governmental organisation comprising
47 governments of the Asian and African region, in co-operation with the
Malaysian government.

The centre was established to provide institutional support at a neutral and
independent venue for the conduct of domestic and international arbitration
proceedings in the region.

Over the years, it lost its sparkle against other arbitration centres emerging
across the region, namely the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre,
Chinese International Economic Trade and Arbitration Commission and the more
renowned Singapore International Arbitration Centre.

However, with the current rebranding exercise and attractive product structure,
Sundra believed the centre was poised for future growth and to rebuild its once
exalted reputation.

He added the centre had printed 20,000 information kits which would be handed to
every lawyer in the country, selected professionals and companies listed on the
main market of Bursa Malaysia.

Arbitration has been increasingly popular as a means for dispute resolution in
international commerce across countries and borders.

Parties involved have the flexibility to appoint their preferred
arbitrators; procedures can be expedited and more importantly the
confidentiality element that protects parties involved.

"You do not wash dirty linen in public and the confidentiality provisions in
arbitration extends quite extensively, it is private only to the parties
related.

"Another factor would be the enforceability of the awards by arbitration, in
terms of cost effectiveness, it may not necessarily be cheaper but chances of it
being enforced is higher," he said, alluding to the increasing popularity of
arbitration with rising regional trade and commerce.

Sundra explained that under the 1958 New York Convention on the Recognition and
Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards, awards made by arbitration centres were
recognised and can be enforced in any of the 144 countries that are signatories
to the convention.

"If an award has been made for you in Malaysia, you may not enforce it in
Malaysia or even in the country the other party originated from but could be
exercised in a third country.

"This shows how efficacious the arbitral process is.

"Once the award comes out, as long as it is a New York Convention country, it is
an obligation for their courts to enforce the award," he said.

Recently, the centre became the first to adopt the newly revised United Nations
Commission on International Trade Law Arbitration Rules (UNICITRAL) into the
centre's Rules for Arbitration.

It will boost the centre's ability to facilitate settlement of commercial
disputes with its additional provisions enhancing procedural efficiency.

"UNICITRAL comes up with harmonisation of the rules, picking up various types of
law relating to commercial matters, and finds a common ground so that people
could incorporate the model law in all jurisdictions.

"With the new rules in place, it provides more power to the arbitration tribunal
to speed up proceedings, enhance procedural efficiency, and most importantly,
ensure the award and judgment is enforceable.

"Now we have a perfect set of rules and a change of fee structure. It will
definitely be attractive for parties seeking arbitration and this is what we are
trumpeting about now," he added.

With the revamped fee structure, Sundra said the cost of arbitration in the
country was about just 60 per cent of the total cost one may incur if they took
their case to Singapore.

"It was only after we decided on the fee structure that we found out that they
were lower than our neighbour.

"In fact, it has nothing to do with them, the fees are packaged this way to
reflect what we think is the cost of doing things here," he said.

He added the centre was not in competition with Singapore which has made its
mark in the international market while KLRCA was targeting to secure domestic
cases as well as some international cases.

"We want to have more hearings and activities, I want to make Malaysia known as
a premier arbitration destination," he added.

He said having an efficient dispute resolution system was very important in
making the country internationally renowned as a business destination.

"Foreign companies keen on doing business in Malaysia can be assured their
commercial interests will be protected with options for arbitration that can be
held in a confident and neutral manner," he said.

The centre, which currently handles about 70 cases a year, was expected to
handle between 200 and 300 cases in three years.

Additionally, the centre has come up with a "model clause" to be used in any
business contract, and to start things off, it is urging all government bodies
and government-linked companies to include the clause in their future contracts.

The model clause says in the case of any dispute, controversy or claim arising
from a particular contract, or the breach, termination or invalidity, it shall
be settled by arbitration in accordance with the KLRCA's rules of arbitration.


It (the clause) basically caters for commercial businesses to opt for
arbitration to resolve disputes, failing which, they can resort to litigation.

He explained that although the centre was supported by the Malaysian government,
an agreement with AALCO, prior to its establishment, had kept it clear of any
interference from the authorities.

"It has made us an independent international body located in Malaysia, vested
with privileges and immunities of diplomatic status to enable us to do our work
without intervention from anybody," he said.

Since the start of KLCRA's rebranding campaign, Sundra felt a general feeling of
confidence in the centre, saying more people were keen to come forward to seek
its service.

However, he said the real effects of the current rebranding exercise could only
be felt in the next two years.

Distinguishing itself among the rest, he felt optimism was building up over
KLCRA with increasing enthusiasm on the future of the country's arbitration
industry.
-- BERNAMA



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