MALAYSIA TO REVITALISE KL ARBITRATION CENTRE

By P. VIJIAN

NEW DELHI, July 28 (Bernama) -- Malaysia would be seeking the support of an
international law body to revitalise the Kuala Lumpur Regional Centre for
Arbitration (KLRCA) to resuscitate the importance of global arbitration.

The KLRCA, established in 1978 under the auspices of Asian-African Legal
Consultative Organisation (AALCO), an inter-governmental international law
body, is now facing stiff competition from other regional arbitration centre
and has not been fully utilised.

"We need to push the international Kuala Lumpur center to be a major
regional centre. We are facing stiff competition in this area of international
arbitration, which is becoming very important, especially in trade and business
circles.

"We are facing competition from Hong Kong, Singapore and Australia. If the
47 countries are serious, then, they must fully use this regional centre, so
that we can expand this centre of arbitration," Attorney General Abdul Gani
Patail, who was on a brief visit to Delhi, told Bernama.

The KLRCA is likely to feature significantly in the forthcoming 48th Annual
Session of AALCO, where its 47-member states would convene in Putrajaya from
Aug 17 to 20 this year.

"One of the things we are putting up in AALCO's programme is the
revitalising of the centre. We will also be discussing about sea piracy,
maritime boundaries, including the financial crisis," he added.

As host, Malaysia would take over from India as the president of AALCO
during the Putrajaya conference.

Last June, Malaysia's Prof Dr Rahmat Mohamad was elected as the
secretary-general of AALCO - constituted in 1956 and headquartered in Delhi.

Prior to his appointment, Dr Rahmat, a legal expert, was the deputy vice
chancellor of the Research and Innovation department of Universiti Teknologi
Mara.
--BERNAMA