| Abstract |
This topic gives an overview of the institutions that are dealing with family disputes in Malaysia. Generally, these institutions can be divided into judicial institutions and non-judicial institutions. Judicial institutions refer to the civil courts and Syariah courts. While non-judicial institutions refer to the other bodies that provide family services, including the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development, LPPKN, Legal Aid Department, Malaysian Mediation Centre, religious institutions, private counsellors and NGOs. However, one of the downsides in the present system is lack of cooperation between judicial and non-judicial institutions that are dealing with family matters. In the meantime, resolution of legal disputes does not necessarily indicate that the disputes have been treated from the root. In order to promote holistic resolution of family disputes, family members need to be given further treatment outside of the courts, to tackle other non-legal issues, such as emotional and mental conflicts. The family support system can facilitate the individuals, particularly by giving social support and counselling. In fact, the family support institutions are able to deal with family conflicts at the early stage, thus reducing the number of cases that need to go for court trial. Family service centres that have been established in other countries such as Singapore and Australia indicated a high success rate in the resolution of family disputes. It is viewed that a cooperation between judicial and non-judicial institutions can provide a holistic approach to the resolution of family disputes. Therefore, it is suggested that a strong networking to be established between these institutions, so as to improve the referral function between them. At the same time, it is important to create awareness among the society regarding family services that are available and how these services can help them in handling their family disputes. |
