DR 21/2012
A BILL
i n t i t u l e d
An Act to provide for the
establishment, duties and powers of the Malaysia Volunteers Corps and to
provide for related matters.
[ ]
ENACTED by the Parliament of Malaysia as follows:
PART I
PRELIMINARY
1. Short title and
commencement
(1) This Act may be cited as
the Malaysia Volunteers Corps Act 2012.
(2) This Act comes into
operation on 22 June 2012.
2. Interpretation
In this Act, unless the
context otherwise requires-
"member of RELA"
means a volunteer member who has been enrolled as a member of RELA under
subsection 7(1);
"motor vehicle" has
the same meaning assigned to it in section 2 of the Road Transport Act [Act
333];
"Director General"
means the Director General of RELA appointed under subsection 4(1);
"community service"
means any work, service or course of instruction for the betterment of the
public at large as directed by the Director General;
"Minister" means the
Minister charged with the responsibility for RELA;
"Malaysia Volunteers
Corps" or "RELA" means the volunteers corps established under
this Act;
"officer of RELA"
means any person who has been appointed as an officer of RELA under subsections
4(1) and (2);
"traffic warden" has
the same meaning assigned to it in section 2 of the Road Transport Act.
PART I
ESTABLISHMENT AND APPOINTMENT OF MALAYSIA VOLUNTEERS CORPS (RELA)
3. Establishment of Malaysia
Volunteers Corps
There is established a
Malaysia Volunteers Corps (RELA) that shall consist of such number of officers
and members of RELA.
4. Appointment of Director
General, Deputy Director General and other officers
(1) The Minister may appoint,
from among the members of the public service, a Director General of RELA who
shall be subject to the control and direction of the Minister.
(2) The Minister may appoint,
from among the members of the public service, such number of Deputies Director
General of RELA and such other officers as may be necessary for the purpose of
carrying into effect the provisions of this Act.
(3) All officers appointed
under subsection (2) and members of RELA enrolled under this Act shall be
subject to the command, control and direction of the Director General.
(4) The Director General may
in writing, subject to such conditions, limitations or restrictions as he
thinks fit to impose, delegate all or any of his powers or functions under this
Act to a Deputy Director General of RELA or to an officer of RELA.
PART III
DUTIES AND POWERS OF RELA
5. Duties of RELA
(1) Every officer and member
of RELA shall have the following duties:
(a) to assist any security force or authority established under written law
upon request of the force or authority;
(b) to give assistance to the relevant authority in controlling and
diverting motor vehicle;
(c) to take part in community service;
(d) to assist in protecting building, installation or other property
belonging to the Federal or State Government or any other statutory body or
such private property upon request of the owner of the building, installation
or property; and
(e) to carry out any orders and directions issued by the Director General
not inconsistent with the provisions of this Act.
(2) Every officer and member
of RELA shall perform the duties and exercise the powers as are by law imposed
and shall obey all lawful directions which he may receive from his superior
officer authorized by the Director General.
(3) For the purpose of
exercising the duty under paragraph (1)(a), the officer and member of
RELA shall be under the command of an officer of the security force or
authority, as the case may be, who is present at the place.
6. Power to control and divert
motor vehicle
(1) For the purpose of
exercising the duty under paragraph 5(1)(b), the officer and member of
RELA may divert any motor vehicle on a road, street and any place to which the
public have access.
(2) In exercising the powers
under subsection (1), the officer and member of RELA shall be under the command
of the police officer or traffic warden, as the case may be, who is present at
the place.
PART IV
MEMBER OF RELA AND ENROLMENT
7. Enrolment as member of RELA
(1) A person who is eighteen
years old and above who is a citizen and not a member of the Armed Forces of
Malaysia or any force or volunteer scheme established under any written law may
apply in writing to the Director General to be enrolled as a member of RELA.
(2) Upon such application, the
Director General or an officer authorized by him may enrol or refuse to enrol
the person as a member of RELA.
(3) A person shall be deemed
to have been enrolled as a member of RELA upon service of a notice to him by
the Director General or an officer authorized by the Director General that he
has been selected for enrolment.
(4) A member of RELA who is
below the age of eighteen on the coming into operation of this Act shall cease
to be a member of RELA.
8. Certificate of appointment
The Director General shall
issue a certificate of appointment in the form of a security card to every
member of RELA.
9. Period of membership
(1) The period of enrolment
for every member of RELA shall be five years from the date of his enrolment and
the Director General or an officer authorized by him may extend the period of
enrolment.
(2) A member whose period of
enrolment is not extended shall have his name placed on a reserve list.
10. Training
Every member of RELA shall
undergo training as the Director General may prescribe to fit him for the
duties which he may be called upon to perform.
11. Leave for training
(1) Every employer shall, if
any person in his employment who is a member of RELA is called up for training
under this Act, grant such person leave for the duration of the period of the
training to enable him to undergo the training.
(2) The period of training
shall not exceed ten days at any one time.
(3) No employer shall-
(a) subject to subsection (4), make or cause to be made any undue transfer
or deduction from the pay, other remuneration or annual leave of such person;
(b) impose or cause to be imposed upon, or exact from, such person any
penalty; or
(c) change the terms and conditions of the employment of such person to his
prejudice, solely by reason of his absence from work during the period of
training.
(4) An employer who is within
the definition of the Employment Act 1955 [Act 265], Labour Ordinance [Sabah
Cap. 67] or Labour Ordinance [Sarawak Cap. 76] may deduct the pay or
other remuneration of such person who undergoes the training under subsection
(1).
(5) An employer who-
(a) directly or indirectly refuses or, by intimidation, undue influence or
in any other manner, interferes with, the granting to any person of the period
of leave required under subsection (1); or
(b) contravenes subsection (3), commits an offence and shall, on
conviction, be liable to a fine not exceeding six thousand ringgit.
(6) The court by which an
employer is convicted of an offence under subsection (5) for the contravention
of subsection (3) may order the employer to pay to the person referred to in
subsection (3) the pay and other remuneration to which that person is entitled
during the period of training.
12. Prohibition of dismissal
of employees by reason of training
Every employer who dismisses a
person who is a member of RELA from his employment mainly by reason of the
person being called up for training under this Act commits an offence and
shall, on conviction, be liable to a fine not exceeding six thousand ringgit.
13. Resignation of member
(1) A member of RELA may at
any time resign as a member by giving written notice to the effect to the
officer or member of RELA in immediate command of him.
(2) The officer or member of
RELA, upon receipt of the notice under subsection (1), shall serve a notice on
the member resigning informing him that he has been discharged from membership
of RELA and thereupon such person shall cease to be a member of RELA.
(3) A person who has ceased to
be a member of RELA under subsection (2) shall, within fourteen days after he
ceases to be a member, surrender the certificate of appointment issued to him
under this Act.
14. Termination of membership
The Director General or an
officer of RELA authorized by him may terminate the membership of a member of
RELA.
15. Allowances
A member of RELA who is on
duty shall be paid such allowances as the Minister may determine after
consultation with the Minister of Finance.
PART V
OFFENCES
16. Offence of possession of
certificate of appointment
(1) A person, who is not a
member of RELA, shall not have in his possession a certificate of appointment
issued to any person under this Act.
(2) Any person who contravenes
subsection (1) commits an offence and shall, on conviction, be liable to a fine
not exceeding three thousand ringgit or to imprisonment for a term not
exceeding three years or to both.
17. Offence of obstruction
Any person who obstructs,
dissuades or deters or attempts to obstruct, dissuade or deter or assists in
obstructing, dissuading or deterring any person from enrolling in RELA or from
performing his duties or exercising his powers as a member of RELA, commits an
offence and shall, on conviction, be liable to a fine not exceeding five
thousand ringgit or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years or to
both.
18. Personation
Any person not being an
officer or a member of RELA who-
(a) pretends to be an officer or a member of RELA knowing that he is not;
(b) falsely personates an officer or a member of RELA; or
(c) in such assumed character does or attempts to do any act under colour
of being an officer or a member of RELA, commits an offence and shall, on
conviction, be liable to a fine not exceeding five thousand ringgit or to
imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years or to both.
PART VI
GENERAL
19. Uniform and equipment
(1) Every officer of RELA
shall be issued with such uniform and equipment and wear such badges of rank as
the Director General may determine.
(2) Every member of RELA who
is eligible for uniform and equipment shall be issued with such uniform and
equipment and wear such badges of rank as the Director General may determine.
(3) The officer and member of
RELA referred to in subsections (1) and (2) shall retain in his possession and
maintain in good order such uniform and equipment.
20. Uniform and equipment to
be delivered up on ceasing to be member
(1) When an officer or a
member of RELA ceases to be in RELA he shall, within fourteen days, deliver to
the person appointed by the Director General for that purpose his uniform and
equipment which has been supplied to him.
(2) An officer or a member of
RELA who, having ceased to be a member of RELA, without good cause fails to
comply with subsection (1) commits an offence and shall, on conviction, be
liable to a fine not exceeding five thousand ringgit or to imprisonment for a
term not exceeding three months or to both, and, in addition, shall be liable
to pay the value of the property not delivered up, and such value may be ascertained
by the court in a summary manner and shall be recoverable as a fine.
21. RELA areas
The Director General may, from
time to time, determine RELA areas for the purpose of administrative control by
such officers and members of RELA as determined by the Director General.
22. Rank of RELA
(1) The ranks of RELA are as
set out in the Schedule.
(2) The Minister may, by order
published in the Gazette, amend the Schedule.
23. Honorary and associates
ranks
The Minister may grant an
honorary or associate rank in RELA to any person as he may think fit.
24. Director General’s
Standing Orders
The Director General may issue
administrative orders to be called "Standing Orders" not inconsistent
with this Act or regulations made under this Act on the general control, duties
and training of RELA officers and members.
25. Public servants
The Director General, Deputies
Director General, officers and every member of RELA, while discharging the
duties as such officer or member of RELA shall be deemed to be public servants
within the meaning of the Penal Code [Act 574].
26. The Public Authorities
Protection Act 1948
The Public Authorities
Protection Act 1948 [Act 198] shall apply to any action, suit,
prosecution or proceedings against the Director General, Deputies Director General
or any officer or member of RELA in respect of any act, neglect or default done
or committed by him in good faith or any omission by him in good faith, in such
capacity.
27. Power to make regulations
(1) The Minister may make
regulations not inconsistent with this Act for carrying out the purposes of
this Act.
(2) Without prejudice to the
generality of subsection (1), the Minister may make regulations relating to all
or any of the following matters:
(a) the payment of gratuities, allowances, benefits, compensation and any
other grants payable to members of RELA under this Act;
(b) the description and issuance of uniforms and necessaries to be supplied
to the officers and members of RELA;
(c) the grant of honorary and associate ranks to persons and the occasions
on which persons may wear the uniforms of such ranks; and
(d) providing for such other matters as are contemplated by, or necessary
for giving full effect to, the provisions of this Act.
28. Savings provision
(1) The persons who were
appointed under the Essential (Ikatan Relawan Rakyat) Regulations 1966 [P.U.
33/66] shall continue to be officers under this Act as if those persons had
been appointed under subsections 4(1) and (2) of this Act.
(2) Subject to subsection
7(4), the persons who were enrolled as members of the Ikatan Relawan Rakyat
under the Essential (Ikatan Relawan Rakyat) Regulations 1966 shall continue to
be members under this Act as if those persons had been enrolled under
subsection 7(2) of this Act.
SCHEDULE
[Section 22]
RANKS OF RELA
1. OFFICER OF RELA
General
Lieutenant General
Major General
Brigadier General
Colonel
Lieutenant Colonel
Major
2. MEMBER OF RELA
Captain
Lieutenant
Second Lieutenant
Warrant Officer I
Warrant Officer II
Staff Sergeant
Sergeant
Corporal
Lance Corporal
Private
EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
The proposed Malaysia
Volunteers Corps Bill 2012 ("the proposed Act") seeks to provide for
matters relating to the establishment of the Malaysia Volunteers Corps (RELA),
and to provide for its duties and powers and to provide for related matters.
PART I
2. Part I deals with
preliminary matters.
3. Clause 1 contains the short
title and provision on the commencement of the proposed Act.
4. Clause 2 contains the
definitions of certain words used in the proposed Act.
PART II
5. Part II contains provisions
relating to the establishment and appointment of the Malaysia Volunteers Corps
(RELA).
6. Clause 3 seeks to provide
for the establishment of RELA.
7. Clause 4 provides for the
appointment of the Director General, Deputies Director General and other
officers of RELA.
PART III
8. Part III of the proposed
Act deals with the duties and powers of RELA.
9. Clause 5 sets out the
duties of every officer and member of RELA.
10. Clause 6 empowers officers
and members of RELA to control and divert motor vehicles.
PART IV
11. Part IV of the proposed
Act deals with members of RELA and enrolment.
12. Clause 7 seeks to provide
for the enrolment of members of RELA.
13. Clause 8 provides for the
issuance of certificates of appointment in the form of security cards to the
members of RELA.
14. Clause 9 sets out the
period for enrolment of a member of RELA which may be extended by the Director
General. If the period of enrolment of a member of RELA is not extended, his
name shall be placed on a reserve list.
15. Clause 10 empowers the
Director General to determine the training for members of RELA.
16. Clause 11 seeks to impose
a duty on the employer to grant leave to a member of RELA who undergoes
training and makes it an offence if the employer makes any deduction from the
pay, imposes any penalty or change the terms and conditions of the employment
solely by reason of the member’s absence from work during the period of
training.
17. Clause 12 seeks to
prohibit the dismissal of employees by reason of attending the training.
18. Clause 13 seeks to allow
members of RELA to resign their membership by giving written notice to the
officer or member of RELA in immediate command.
19. Clause 14 seeks to allow
the Director General or an officer authorized by him to terminate the
membership of a member of RELA.
20. Clause 15 empowers the
Minister to determine the allowances to be paid to members of RELA.
PART V
21. Part V of the proposed Act
consists of provisions dealing with offences.
22. Clause 16 makes it an
offence for a person who is not a member of RELA to have in possession a
certificate of appointment issued to any person under this Act whilst clause 17
deals with the offence of obstructing, dissuading or deterring any person from
enrolling in RELA or from performing his duties or exercising his power as a
member of RELA.
23. Clause 18 deals with the
offence of personation.
PART VI
24. Part VI of the proposed
Act consists of general provisions.
25. Clause 19 deals with the
provision relating to uniform and equipment whilst clause 20 imposes a duty to
an officer and member of RELA to deliver up any uniform and equipment upon
ceasing to be an officer or a member of RELA.
26. Clause 21 empowers the
Director General to determine the RELA areas.
27. Clause 22 seeks to provide
the ranks of RELA and empowers the Minister to amend the Schedule by order
published in the Gazette.
28. Clause 23 empowers to the
Minister to grant an honorary rank or associate rank to any person.
29. Clause 24 empowers the
Director General to issue administrative orders to be called "Standing
Orders" for the general control, duties and training of RELA officers and
members.
30. Clause 25 provides that
the Director General, Deputies Director General, officer and every member of
RELA shall be deemed to be public servants within the meaning of the Penal Code
while discharging their duties.
31. Clause 26 provides for the
Public Authorities Protection Act 1948 to be applicable to the Director
General, Deputies Director General, officer and every member of RELA.
32. Clause 27 seeks to empower
the Minister to make regulations.
33. Clause 28 deals with
savings provisions.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
This Bill will not involve
the Government in any extra financial expendit |
