1 PART I PRELIMINARY-1. Short title and commencement.

(1) This Act may be cited as the Statutory Bodies (Discipline And Surcharge) Act 2000 .

(2) This Act shall come into operation on a date to be appointed by the Prime Minister by notification in the Gazette .

2 PART I PRELIMINARY-2. Application.

(1) This Act shall apply to all statutory bodies except the statutory bodies listed in the First Schedule.

(2) Notwithstanding subsection (1) , the statutory bodies listed in the First Schedule shall ensure that disciplinary provisions applicable to their officers conform as closely as their incorporating law and organizational and remuneration systems permit to the provisions in the Regulations.

3 PART I PRELIMINARY-3. Relationship of this Act and incorporating law.

This Act shall be read together and construed as one with the incorporating law of a statutory body.

4 PART I PRELIMINARY-4. Interpretation.

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires-

  "Board"  means the statutory body itself or, where the incorporating law provides for a separate board, council or committee by whatever name called to carry out the functions of the statutory body and to have charge of the general management and administration of the statutory body, that board, council or committee;

  "Director General"  means the person, by whatever name called, who is charged with the day to day administration and management of the affairs of a statutory body;

  "Disciplinary Appeal Committee"  means the committee referred to in section 7;

  "Disciplinary Committee"  means the committee referred to in section 6;

  "disciplinary offence"  me

5 PART II DISCIPLINE-5. Application of Regulations.

The Regulations shall apply in respect of the discipline of officers of a statutory body.

6 PART II DISCIPLINE-6. Disciplinary authority.

(1) The disciplinary authorities in respect of the various categories of officers shall be the Disciplinary Committees established in accordance with Part I of the Third Schedule and the provisions of that Part shall apply to, and be complied with by, every Disciplinary Committee so established.

(2) In the exercise of its disciplinary jurisdiction, the Disciplinary Committees shall comply with the procedures set out in the Regulations and shall have the power to take the disciplinary action and impose the disciplinary punishments set out in the Regulations.

7 PART II DISCIPLINE-7. Appeals.

An officer who has been found guilty of a disciplinary offence by a Disciplinary Committee may appeal against such decision to the appropriate Disciplinary Appeal Committee established in accordance with Part II of the Third Schedule and the Appendix to that Schedule and the provisions of that Part shall apply to, and be complied with by, every Disciplinary Appeal Committee so established.

8 PART II DISCIPLINE-8. Disciplinary proceedings in special cases.

(1) Where the Director General or his deputy is appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, the Disciplinary Committee in respect of such Director General or such deputy shall consist of the Minister as chairman and two members of the Board appointed by the Minister.

(2) Where the Director General or his deputy is appointed by the Minister, the Disciplinary Committee in respect of such Director General or such deputy shall consist of the Secretary General of the Ministry and two members of the Board appointed by such Secretary General.

(3) A Disciplinary Committee established under subsection (1) or (2) shall have the power to conduct disciplinary proceedings against the Director General or his deputy over whom it has jurisdiction and may make any recommendation to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong or the Minister by whom the Director General or his deputy was appointed as to the punishment to be imposed on or any other action to be taken against s

9 PART III TERMINATION IN THE PUBLIC INTEREST-9. Termination of service.

(1) Where the Board finds or where representations are made to the Board that it is desirable that the service of an officer be terminated in the public interest, the Board may direct the superior officer of the officer against whom the representations are made to submit to the Board a full report which shall contain particulars relating to the work and conduct of that officer, and the comments of that officer's Head of Department.

(2) If, after considering the report submitted under subsection (1) , the Board is satisfied that, having regard to the conditions of service, the work, the conduct and the usefulness of the officer and all other circumstances of the case, it is desirable in the public interest to do so, the Board may terminate the service of that officer from such date as the Board shall specify.

10 PART III TERMINATION IN THE PUBLIC INTEREST-10. Recommendation by Disciplinary Committee.

(1) It shall be lawful for a Disciplinary Committee to recommend to the Board that the service of an officer over whom that Committee exercises disciplinary jurisdiction be terminated in the public interest even though no disciplinary proceedings have been carried out under this Act.

(2) A recommendation to the Board under subsection (1) shall be accompanied by a full report of the grounds upon which such recommendation is based.

(3) The Board may direct the superior officer of the officer referred to in subsection (1) to submit to the Board any additional information in respect of the officer as the Board may require.

(4) If, after considering the report submitted under subsection (2) and any additional information submitted under subsection (3) the Board is satisfied that, having regard to the conditions of service, the work, the conduct and the usefulness of the officer and all other circumstances of the case, it is desirable

11 PART III TERMINATION IN THE PUBLIC INTEREST-11. Opportunity to be heard.

Notwithstanding anything in this Act and any other law to the contrary, before the Board makes a decision under section 9 or 10 to terminate the service of an officer, the Board shall give that officer an opportunity to be heard.

12 PART III TERMINATION IN THE PUBLIC INTEREST-12. Termination of service is not dismissal.

The termination of an officer under section 9 or 10 is not and shall not be regarded as a dismissal notwithstanding that the termination involves an element of punishment or is connected with conduct in relation to his office which the Board regards as unsatisfactory or blameworthy.

13 PART III TERMINATION IN THE PUBLIC INTEREST-13. Retirement in the public interest.

Notwithstanding sections 9 and 10, the Board may, with the consent of the pensions authority, require any officer to retire from the service of a statutory body under paragraph 10(5) (d) of the Statutory and Local Authorities Pensions Act 1980 [Act 239] .

14 PART IV SURCHARGE-14. Grounds for surcharge.

A person who is or was in the employment of a statutory body may be surcharged if it appears to the Board that the person-

(a) did not or has failed to collect any monies owing to the statutory body the collection of which he is or was responsible;

(b) is or was responsible for any improper payment of monies from the statutory body or for any payment of monies not duly approved;

(c) is or was responsible, directly or indirectly, for any deficiency in, or for the destruction of, any money, stores or other property of the statutory body;

(d) being or having been an accounting officer, did not or has failed to keep or monitor proper accounts or records of the statutory body; or

(e) did not or has failed to make any payment, or is or was responsible for any delay in the payment of monies from the statutory body to any person to whom the payment is due under an

15 PART IV SURCHARGE-15. Notice to show cause.

The Board shall, before a person is surcharged, serve upon him a written notice requesting him to show cause why he should not be surcharged.

16 PART IV SURCHARGE-16. Imposition of surcharge.

If a satisfactory explanation is not received within 14 days from the date of service of a notice on a person under section 15, the Board may-

(a) in the case of an act or omission described in paragraph 14 (a) , (b) or (c) , surcharge against the person a sum of money not exceeding the amount not collected or of the improper payment made or of the value of the deficiency in the property or the value of the property destroyed; and

(b) in the case of an act or omission described in paragraph 14 (d) or (e) , surcharge against the person such sum of money as the Board deems fit, having regard to the circumstances of the case.

17 PART IV SURCHARGE-17. Notification of surcharge.

Where a person is surcharged under section 16, the Board shall notify him in writing of the imposition of the surcharge.

18 PART IV SURCHARGE-18. Withdrawal of surcharge.

Notwithstanding sections 16 and 17, the Board may at any time withdraw any surcharge in respect of which a satisfactory explanation has been received or if it otherwise appears that no surcharge should have been imposed, and the Board shall immediately notify the person surcharged of that withdrawal.

19 PART IV SURCHARGE-19. Record of surcharge.

Every surcharge imposed on an officer under this Part shall be recorded in the Records of Service of the officer.

20 PART IV SURCHARGE-20. Recovery of surcharge.

The amount of any surcharge imposed under section 16 and not withdrawn under section 18 shall be a debt due to the statutory body from the person surcharged and may be sued for and recovered in any court by the statutory body and may also, if the Board so directs, be recovered by deduction-

(a) from the salary of the person surcharged; or

(b) from the pension of the person surcharged,

by equal monthly instalments, each instalment not exceeding one-fourth of the total monthly salary or pension, as the case may be, of that person.

21 PART IV SURCHARGE-21. Composition of the Board in special cases.

In any action for surcharge against the Director General, the composition of the Board for the purposes of sections 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 and 20 shall not include the Director General.

22 PART IV SURCHARGE-22. Surcharge shall not bar disciplinary action.

Any action taken against an officer under this Part shall not bar any disciplinary action from being instituted against him in accordance with the Regulations.

23 PART V POWERS OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND MINISTER-23. Power to amend Schedules.

(1) The Prime Minister may, from time to time, by order published in the Gazette amend the Second or Third Schedule.

(2) No amendment shall be made under subsection (1) which has the effect of depriving any person of an opportunity to be heard before a decision is made in any disciplinary proceeding against him.

(3) The Prime Minister may by order published in the Gazette amend the First Schedule by adding to the list in the Schedule any statutory body whose remuneration scheme has been segregated.

24 PART V POWERS OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND MINISTER-24. Power to issue directives.

For the purpose of ensuring that the provisions of this Act are complied with by every statutory body for which he is responsible, the Minister may issue such directives as he thinks necessary or expedient.

25 PART V POWERS OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND MINISTER-25. Power to exempt or vary.

(1) The Minister may, with the concurrence of the Prime Minister, exempt any statutory body for which he is responsible from any provision of the Regulations or the Third Schedule or vary any provision of the Regulations or the Third Schedule in its application to that statutory body.

(2) The power conferred in subsection (1) shall be exercised only for the purpose of adapting the Regulations or the Third Schedule to the organizational or management structure of the statutory body as provided in its incorporating law.

26 PART VI GENERAL-26. The Public Authorities Protection Act 1948.

The Public Authorities Protection Act 1948 [Act 198] shall apply in respect of any action, litigation, prosecution or proceedings against the Board or any member, officer or agent of the Board in relation to any act done in pursuance or execution or intended execution of any of the provisions of this Act or in respect of any alleged neglect or default in the execution of any of such provisions.

27 PART VI GENERAL-27. Administrative directives by the Board.

(1) The Board may from time to time issue any administrative directive in relation to the conduct and discipline of officers of the statutory body, or the procedure for the imposition of surcharge on such officers.

(2) No directive which is inconsistent with this Act shall be issued under subsection (1).

28 PART VII CESSATION OF APPLICATION, SAVING AND TRANSITIONAL-28. Cessation of application of certain provisions of incorporating law.

Upon the commencement of this Act the provisions which relate to discipline, termination of service in the public interest and surcharge in the incorporating law of a statutory body and all subsidiary legislation made under or pursuant to those provisions shall cease to apply to that statutory body except as provided in section 29.

29 PART VII CESSATION OF APPLICATION, SAVING AND TRANSITIONAL-29. Saving and transitional.

(1) Any proceedings pending on the commencement of this Act before the appropriate disciplinary authority or appellate authority established or provided for in the incorporating law of a statutory body or in subsidiary legislation made under that law shall be continued in accordance with the provisions applicable to those proceedings in the incorporating law or subsidiary legislation made under that law and the disciplinary authority or appellate authority may make such order or decision as it is empowered to make under those provisions.

(2) Any disciplinary offence committed or alleged to have been committed by an officer of a statutory body before the commencement of this Act shall be dealt with under the provisions of the incorporating law of the statutory body.

(3) Notwithstanding subsection (2) , the officer referred to in that subsection shall be notified that he may elect to have the disciplinary offence dealt with under this Act