A reduction of capital occurs where a company reduces the amount of its share capital. Under the Malaysian Companies Act 2016 ('Act'), the Act provides two methods for companies to execute its scheme of capital reduction. This is an addition to the previous Companies Act 1965 wherein it only provides a mechanism for capital reduction by way of confirmation before the Court. Section 115 of the Act states that the reduction of capital can be by way of confirmation of a special resolution at the High Court or a special resolution supported by a solvency statement.

In this article, we will discuss the objectives of capital reduction, the method of executing the scheme of capital reduction pursuant to the Act and further discuss the requirement of fairness and equity for the confirmation of the scheme at the High Court by referring to two English cases namely the case of Ex Parte Westburn Sugar Refineries Ltd [1951] AC 625 ('Westburn') and In Re Holders Investment Trust Ltd [1971] 1 WLR 583 ('Holders Investment Trust').

More than half a billion women in the world profess the religion of Islam. They are concentrated in the 45 Muslim-majority countries in a broad belt from Senegal to the Philippines, with the largest number in the South Asian subcontinent. The most populous single Muslim-majority nation is Indonesia. Stereotypes of Muslim women have long prevailed in the West, distorting the enormous interregional and class variations in their circumstances and status.

However, the truth is far from all this propaganda against Muslims. Islam is what the Quran says it is. Nevertheless, Islam predates Quran itself. It is believed that Islam came with the first human being and the first Prophet Adam (AS) and was preached and professed by every single prophet after him.^[1] In Surah An-Nisa, the Holy Quran dedicates an entire chapter to women, and a whole chapter on Mother Mary can be found in Surah Maryam, which could not be found in the Bible. In Islam, a woman is given high status. When she is born, she becomes the path to paradise for her parents; when she gets married, she completes half the deen (religion) of her husband, and when she becomes a mother, paradise lies at her feet. Hence, it makes no sense on what pretext it can be said that Islam oppresses women as there is no material evidence as per the holy scriptures to prove the same.

A recent study shows domestic violence increases when family members spend more time together, even during festivities and summer vacations.^[1] During the COVID-19 pandemic, this situation worsened when everyone was confined to their homes. As accurately put by Amanda Taub in her paper 'A New Covid-19 Crisis: Domestic Abuse Rises Worldwide', domestic abuse is acting like an opportunistic infection, flourishing in the conditions created by the pandemic.^[2]

Malaysian Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Rina Harun said 9,015 police reports were lodged for domestic violence since the movement control order ('MCO') during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. For 2021, domestic violence cases from January to October were reported at 4,905 cases.^[3] It was also publicised that the number of domestic violence cases reported increased from 5,260 cases in 2020 to 7,468 cases in 2021, a rise of 42%.^[4]

This drastic increase in domestic abuse cases compels us to revisit the issue of domestic violence in light of the pandemic and consider its implications, not only for women victims but also men. For most people, an image of a terribly beaten woman with a black eye would come to mind when talking about domestic violence. However, not all domestic violence victims are females, as men are also subject to abuse by their partners.

The first section of this study discusses the concept of public and private property rights. This study examines the theoretical framework of how a State balances the requirement of State power to acquire property and the protection of private property rights in land acquisition. Next, the article analyses the applicability of this paradigm as enshrined in the Indian constitutional provision and State law. Finally, the study examines the approaches taken by Malaysia in maintaining the balance of public and private interests in land acquisition from a historical and legal standpoint.

Keywords: Land acquisition, State's power to acquire private property, balance between public and private interests, procedures, compensation.

INTRODUCTION

Land is an important type of property which provides a sense of belonging and security, a source of economic and status symbol to its owner. In fact, it is a vital source of social survival particularly in developing countries. Due to the significant value attached to land, private property rights, including individual property ownership and the right to peaceful enjoyment of land, are considered one of the most fundamental rights recognised by international treaties and are legally protected.^[1]

AUSTRALIA
Employment
Unions and employers agree 40,000 more migrants a year needed to fill Australia’s skills shortage
Unions and employers have agreed Australia should lift its migration intake by 40,000 annually to help fill skills shortages and demanded a boost to apprentice subsidies. The consensus suggests the Albanese government could secure broad support for some policy reform at its jobs and skills summit in September, although the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Acci) will use a major speech on Wednesday to reject more ambitious union requests. The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) has called for price controls on electricity and a windfall profits tax, which Acci’s chief executive, Andrew McKellar, will reject as “throwbacks to a forgotten and bygone era” at the National Press Club.

MALAYSIA
Employment
Temporary freeze on hiring foreign workers lifted from Aug 19
The temporary freeze on applications to hire foreign workers will be lifted starting this Friday (Aug 19), says Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri M. Saravanan. He said although the temporary freeze had been decided upon earlier, the new decision was made after taking into consideration the request from the industries. "I’ve decided to approve (the industries’ request), so the freeze has been lifted and we will process the new applications from this Friday. "We’ve decided that all the earlier applications to hire some 400,000 foreign workers to proceed before the end of this month,” he told reporters after meeting with several business associations at Wisma HRD Corp here on Tuesday (Aug 16). Saravanan said to better understand the issue of foreign workers, the ministry had set up a special committee of 15 members from the industries and five representatives from the Human Resource Ministry.

SINGAPORE
Employment
Retail staff to get pay increases from Sep 1, with expansion of Progressive Wage Model
Local rank-and-file shop workers are set to receive wage increases over three years under the Progressive Wage Model (PWM) for the retail sector. Wages for these workers are expected to go up by 8.4 per cent to 8.5 per cent annually, starting from Sep 1 this year up to Aug 31, 2025. This was among recommendations announced Monday (Aug 15) by the Tripartite Cluster for Retail Industry (TCR) for workers such as retail assistants, cashiers and assistant retail supervisors. Retail assistants, for instance, will have to be paid at least S$1,850 a month, excluding overtime, from Sep 1. The TCR arrived at this figure after consulting extensively and considering the existing median wage of these jobs.

SINGAPORE
Employment
Huge pay bumps and flexi work policies: How Singapore companies are fighting the war for talent
In a normal year, lawyers at one of Singapore’s top four local law firms could expect to receive an annual increment of between 10% and 15%. The company said employees would get a larger increment this year, one former employee told CNBC. His salary jumped by 40% and the increase was not tied to a promotion, the person said. That law firm isn’t the only company in Singapore adjusting compensation packages in a hot labor market. Southeast Asia’s largest lender DBS told CNBC it increased salaries across the bank in mid-2021. Accounting company KPMG announced in May that the firm will spend 25 million Singapore dollars ($18.23 million) on salary increments.