Date: 9 March 2004

The Editor
Industrial Law Reports
Malaysian Current Law Journal Sdn. Bhd.

I thank you for the invitation to give this message for the first issue of ILR of 2005.

The year 2004 saw tremendous development of the Industrial Court. Several new Chairmen were appointed and more are yet to come. The Court also introduced voluntary mediation by Chairmen of the Court prior to the hearing of a case. Recourse to voluntary mediation offered by the Court offers clear advantages, one of them being a speedier and cheaper process for resolving disputes. Aside from that, in 2004 the Court handed down close to 2000 awards, almost a 100% increase compared to the number of awards handed down in 2003. I would like to think that is the result of some of the measures that had been taken by the Court such as mediation, the introduction of witness statements and better case management.

However, 2005 poses a big challenge to the Court. Beginning from June 2004, the Honourable Minister has been and will be referring to the Court some 6,000 disputes that were previously stuck in the Industrial Relations Department which failed to be resolved after conciliation. As at the end of 2004, we have 3,857 cases to be heard. The Government has agreed to appoint seven additional Chairmen to help in disposing this sudden influx of cases. Three of them have already reported for duty. The Court has devised a special action plan to deal with the challenge. This includes introducing mediation, better case management and stricter control over requests for postponement. These measures have been made known to clients of the Court through the Court’s Industrial Law Consultative Committee.

Over the years, the Industrial Law Reports has gained a reputation of credibility and has shown an enduring commitment towards objective reporting of the Industrial Court Awards to its readers. I am particularly pleased with your editorial team’s efforts to cultivate closer ties with the Court and hope that it would continue to dedicate itself to assist the Court in developing industrial jurisprudence to meet the needs of the country.

I wish all the staff of the Editorial Department and all readers of the Industrial Law Reports a productive and prosperous year 2005.

Thank You.

(YUSSOF BIN AHMAD)

President

Industrial Court of Malaysia