In a notice on Monday, chief registrar of the Federal Court Zamri Bakar informed lawyers and the courts that the e-Jamin system, which allows bailors to post bail via online banking transactions, would be discontinued effective May 19.
It was introduced four years ago to expedite the court bail process. It is unclear why it is being discontinued as no reasons have been given.
In a circular to Malaysian Bar members today, the Bar Council’s criminal law committee co-chairmen, SC Ravi Chandran and S Vivekananda, said they held a meeting with Zamri yesterday to discuss the potential problems associated with terminating the e-Jamin facility and the measures that can be taken moving forward.
“The Bar Council raised several concerns at the meeting, including the ramifications of terminating e-Jamin and the potential impact on accused persons, particularly those from the B40 group who might face prolonged incarceration due to the administrative change,” they said in the circular sighted by FMT.
“Having addressed the complexities and potential violations of rights resulting from this decision, the Bar Council also sought a deferment of the e-Jamin termination from the judiciary, but this was to no avail.
“However, the judiciary is agreeable to the Bar Council’s proposal to work together to reinstate or replace the existing platform in the near future.”
The circular said the Bar Council proposed limiting the use of the conventional system to new users and allowing existing users to continue with e-Jamin but the judiciary was unable to accommodate this request.
The Bar Council said it will work with the relevant authorities and the judiciary, including state courts, to facilitate a smooth transition back to the conventional bail depositing system and avoid any adverse impact on the public.
They also urged Malaysian Bar members to report any challenges they encounter.
Just half an hour to post bail with e-Jamin system
Malaysia became the first country in Asean to roll out the online bail solution in February 2020, allowing a bailor to complete the bail procedure within 15 minutes by transferring the required bail amount online via a smartphone.
Under the conventional system, which could take several hours, bailors would need to be present at a bank, open an account, deposit the bail sum and surrender the bank book to the courts before an accused is freed on bail.
Several lawyers FMT spoke to yesterday expressed shock over the decision to halt the “convenient” e-Jamin system, warning that reverting to the “tedious” manual process might compromise the liberty of accused persons.
In a Bursa Malaysia filing yesterday, Pertama Digital Bhd, which operates the e-Jamin system, said it was in discussions with the authorities to allow the company to continue running the system.
Pertama said its subsidiary, Dapat Vista (M) Sdn Bhd, received a letter dated April 30 from the office of the chief registrar of the Federal Court, requiring it to transfer all e-Jamin funds and accrued interest to the main receiving account of the Prime Minister’s Department.
In response to the letter, Pertama said Dapat Vista was “working towards obtaining approval from the relevant regulatory authorities to continue providing services via e-Jamin moving forward”.