Dewan Negara Passes Electricity Supply, Energy Commission And Cross-Border Insolvency Bills

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 9 (Bernama) -- The Dewan Negara today approved the Electricity Supply (Amendment) Bill 2025 and the Energy Commission (Amendment) Bill 2025, aimed at regulating the importation and exportation of electricity as well as green attributes.

Also passed was the Cross-Border Insolvency Bill 2025, which seeks to provide for a legal framework for matters relating to cross-border insolvency, including access to court by foreign representatives and foreign creditors.

Deputy Energy Transition and Water Transformation Minister Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir said the amendments were crucial to strengthening the nation’s aspiration of achieving 70 per cent renewable energy capacity by 2050 and supporting cross-border energy trade under the ASEAN Power Grid project.

He stressed that only surplus energy would be exported to ensure domestic supply remains secure, while revenue from trading activities would be channelled into the Electricity Industry Fund and the Green Energy Fund to support energy transition and protect consumers.

“Through the Energy Exchange Malaysia (ENEGEM) mechanism introduced last year, the government conducted a pilot project to sell 50 megawatts to Singapore. The price was determined through a market bidding process, which yielded better returns for the country,” he said when winding up the debate on the Bill.

Akmal Nasrullah further explained that export and import activities would be monitored in real time to ensure grid security, while licences would only be granted in line with existing network capacity without affecting the stability of domestic electricity supply.

Meanwhile, Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) M. Kulasegaran said the government was open to proposals to expand the application of the Cross-Border Insolvency (CBI) Bill 2025 to personal insolvency in future phases.

However, he said this required further study, as cross-border issues predominantly involve multinational companies and foreign investors.

“The Malaysian CBI Bill was drafted based on the UNCITRAL Model Law on Cross-Border Insolvency (MLCBI), which is essentially more suited for companies or corporate entities,” he said when winding up the debate on the Bill.

On threshold values, Kulasegaran said the government was conducting a study taking into account the debt scale of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), current company winding-up thresholds, litigation costs, as well as the need to protect creditors’ interests without burdening small entrepreneurs.

He also explained that the public policy exemption functioned as a ‘safety valve’ to allow courts to reject recognition of foreign proceedings that conflict with national interests, consistent with practices in countries such as Singapore.

He said this approach provided space for the judiciary to develop public interest legal principles through sound, transparent judgments that align with the nation’s constitutional framework.

Kulasegaran also stressed that the Bill does not erode the country’s legal sovereignty but instead strengthens the role of the Malaysian High Court in addressing cross-border insolvency challenges through the principles of access, assistance, recognition, coordination and cooperation with foreign courts.

-- BERNAMA