Selangor Court History
Introduction
Shah Alam replaced Kuala Lumpur as the capital city of Selangor in 1978 due to the establishment of Kuala Lumpur which became the Federal Territory on 1st February 1974. Shah Alam was once known as Sungai Renggam Plantation which was famous for its rubber and palm oil plantations. The same area was known as Batu Tiga prior to Malaysia’s independence. Under the recommendations of V. Antolic, a Town Planning Advisor of the United Nations, the entire area of Simpang Renggam Plantation was made a city by the Selangor State Government.
The name 'Shah Alam' was chosen by the then Sultan of Selangor, the late Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah in conjunction with the name of his late father, the late Sultan Alam Shah. Shah Alam was opened in 1963 with the aim of making it the administrative centre of Selangor. Shah Alam was declared as the capital city of Selangor on 7th December 1978 and granted City status on 10th October 2000.
Shah Alam Court
On 16th April 1989, the Shah Alam Court was located at Perangsang Plaza Building, Persiaran Perbandaran Shah Alam. The administration of the Shah Alam Court was fully operational on 22nd May 1989. The rapid development of the City of Shah Alam has led to an increase in the number of cases brought to the Court whilst the capacity of the Plaza Perangsang building could not accommodate the needs of the Shah Alam Court and as such the Shah Alam Court needs to have its own building due to lack of conducive space and basic infrastructure. In addition, in the 1990s, the Selangor State Responsibility Center was also regulating the administration of the Subordinate Courts that is in the Districts of Klang/Kuala Langat, Petaling Jaya/Shah Alam, Gombak/Hulu Selangor, Kuala Selangor/Sungai Besar and Hulu Langat/ Sepang.
The Selangor State Government has approved the alienation of land of Lot T2 Section 5, City of Shah Alam in the Petaling District with an area of 3.25 hectares identified as the construction site for the new building of Shah Alam Court. The new Shah Alam Court’s building was fully occupied on 1st August 2000. His Majesty Yang Maha Mulia Seri Paduka Baginda Yang di-Pertuan Agong Xl, Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah Alhaj Ibni Almarhum Sultan Hisamuddin Alam Shah Alhaj was pleased to grant a large clock to be placed in front of the Main Building of the Shah Alam Court.
On 14th October 2000, His Majesty Yang Maha Mulia Seri Paduka Baginda Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah Al-Haj Ibni Almarhum Sultan Hisamuddin Alam Shah Al-Haj inaugurated the new Shah Alam Court building which housed the Civil and Syariah Courts under one roof. Further, this same building also houses 6 High Courts, 4 Sessions Courts and 6 Magistrates' Courts.
Construction of Additional Building (ANNEX) and Facilities
Along with the rapid progress and development in the State of Selangor and the continuous commitment from the government to improve the excellent quality of service of the Judiciary, the Government has approved the construction of an additional building involving a project cost of RM93.1 million. This additional building has 13 courtrooms consisting of the Sessions Courts, the Magistrates’ Courts, the Special Corruption Sessions Court, the Special Commercial Sessions Court, the General Criminal Court and the Civil Court. This additional building is also known as the Annexe Building.
With the construction of this Annex Building, the Shah Alam Court, also known as the Sultan Salehuddin Abdul Aziz Shah Court, has a total of 41 courtrooms which housed 22 High Courts, 14 Sessions Courts and 5 Magistrates' Courts. All these Courts are equipped with a Court Recording and Transcription System (CRT) which enables users to access audio and visual recordings of court proceedings.
Further, there are 2 open courts which are equipped with the Vulnerable Witness System, which enables the statement of vulnerable witnesses to be made in a special room and can be accessed by Judges, Public Prosecutors and Lawyers in open court. There is an auction room, library, surau, cafeteria and parking space for the Judicial Officers, Court staff, Lawyers and the public.
The Inauguration Ceremony of the Additional Building (Annexe) of the Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Court was officiated by His Majesty Yang Maha Mulia Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah Alhaj Ibni Almarhum Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah Alhaj on 12th May 2011. Also present at the Inauguration Ceremony were YAA Tun Zaki bin Tun Mohamed Azmi, the Chief Justice, YAA Tan Sri Ariffin bin Zakaria, the Chief Judge of Malaya, and YAB Tan Sri Dato' Seri Abd Khalid Bin Ibrahim, the Chief Minister of Selangor as well as all the Judges of the High Court of Malaya in Shah Alam.
On 3rd September 2012, the Special Sessions Court handling cases related to the environment was established through the Chief Registrar's Circular No. 3 of 2012 known as the Special Sessions Court for the Environment or Green Court in the State of Selangor. A total of 7 Special Sessions Courts and 3 Special Magistrates’ Courts were established for this purpose. The discourse idea of the "Green Court" began on 14th January 2012, during the Opening Ceremony of the Legal Year 2012 by YAA Tun Ariffin bin Zakaria, the Chief Justice who announced the establishment of Special Sessions Courts to handle cases under environmental laws.
Since 1st April 2013, a High Court in Shah Alam was dedicated to hearing construction cases. On 14th April 2013, the said Construction Court was officiated by YAA Tun Ariffin Bin Zakaria, the Chief Justice. The existence of the Construction Court has placed Malaysia as the second country in the world to have a Special Court for the construction industry after the United Kingdom which established the Technology and Construction Court (TCC) in London.
On 28th February 2014, YAA Tun Ariffin bin Zakaria, the Chief Justice officiated the Selangor Court Mediation Centre at the Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah Court Building. Also present at the Opening Ceremony were YAA Tan Sri Zulkefli Ahmad Makinudin, Chief Judge of Malaya and YAA Datuk Ramly Ali, Managing Judge of the Shah Alam High Court (Civil Division). The mediation process in court is free and the mediator consists of the High Court Judges and Judicial Officers.
Event Date: 17-10-1970
On this day in 1970, His Majesty the Sultan of Selangor, Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah Ibni Almarhum Sultan Hishamudin Alam Shah, agreed to inaugurate the opening of a new court in Petaling Jaya, Selangor. Also present were the Deputy Ruler of Selangor, His Royal Highness Tengku Idris Shah, Minister Besar of Selangor, Dato' Harun Idris, Attorney-General Tan Sri Kadir bin Yusof, Chief Justice Tun Azmi bin Haji Muhamad, Chief Registrar of the High Court Tuan Haji Mohamad Azmi bin Dato ' Haji Kamaruddin and the magistrates.
In his order, His Majesty called on the people to eliminate feelings of envy towards the facilities and positions of judges given by the constitution and the government. The people are also called upon to jointly preserve the principle of judicial independence, in line with the principle of the fourth pillar of the country, the Rule of Law.
The inauguration of this Court is the right step, especially in the effort to form a more orderly and systematic judicial system.
In the early 19th century, all trials were handled by Magistrates using British law under the supervision and advice of English officials.
The site of the first Court Building in Klang was at the current Klang General Post Office located in Jalan Dato' Hamzah.
Because the old place is no longer suitable, then in 1965, the Klang Court moved to another building which is the former Rest House which is located on the hill until now with only 2 courtrooms. This building was officially opened by D.Y.M.M Sultan of Selangor Darul Ehsan on 3 April 1965.
As the number of cases and the Court's staff increased and the 2 courtrooms could no longer accommodate the current needs, in 1981 an additional building was built.
This new building houses 2 conference rooms, an Administrative Office, a Civil registration office and a Registrar's Room.
Bandar Baru Bangi is an elite city that provides commercial, industrial, and business activities, training institutions, recreation, and education based on integrated planning and the City in a Park concept. The location of Bandar Baru Bangi is located between Kajang and Putrajaya (formerly Prang Besar), about 25 kilometers from the capital, Kuala Lumpur. The construction of the Bangi New Town Court building was approved under the Seventh Malaysia Plan.
The Bandar Baru Bangi Court Building began operating on July 16, 2002. This Court building has 2 Sessions Courts, 1 Magistrate's Court, an administrative office, a case registration office, Public Prosecutor's room, Prosecutor's room, a vault, a file room, a meeting room, fitness room, and a room for court staff. This court is also equipped with basic facilities such as a library and prayer hall.
On March 11, 1970, the State Government approved the granting of ownership of the Kajang Court site at Lot 149, Section 9 of Bandar Kajang in the Hulu Langat District with an area of 0.263 hectares through the Kajang Court Site Title Document. In 1972, only one Magistrate was stationed at the Kajang Court sitting in the building next to the Kajang District Police Station. Following the increase in civil cases in Kajang, a Magistrate's Court was created and housed in a rented shop lot to hear civil cases. In the 1970s, Kajang was often hit by large floods which caused the court area to also be flooded and damaged the court building and documents, and made it unsafe to live in.
Under the Ninth Malaysia Plan, the Federal Government approved the proposed construction of a new Kajang Court building. The construction of a new 10-story building is equipped with 1 session courtroom, 2 magistrate courtrooms, a meeting room, a media room, a lawyer's room, a public prosecutor's room, a police office, a detention room, a vault, a file room, an administrative office, and case registrar as well as support staff room.
The new building of the Kajang Court was completed on 10 January 2012. On 2 May 2012, the handover ceremony of the new building of the Kajang Court was completed by YBhg. Dato' Haji Ismail bin Ibrahim, former Director General, BHEUU to YBhg. Dato' Hashim bin Hamzah former Chief Registrar of the Federal Court of Malaysia. The Kajang Court building was fully operational on 4 June 2012.
The Kuala Kubu Bharu Court Building has been planned to be built on a site next to the Hulu Selangor District Council Administrative Office located on Jalan Bukit Kerajaan. The site at Lot 28, Section 14, Kuala Kubu Bharu in the Hulu Selangor District with an area of 0.391 hectares was approved for the construction of the Kuala Kubu Bharu Court building. The title document was issued on 22 June 2007. The construction of the Kuala Kubu Bharu Court building involved 1 session courtroom, a lawyer's room, a public prosecutor's room, a police office, a witness room and a children's room with multi-purpose facilities, an administrative office and case registration, locker separate for male and female prisoners, guard huts and other utility rooms.
The district of Kuala Selangor covers the administrative areas of Pekan Kuala Selangor, Ijok, Jeram, Assam Java, Bukit Rotan, Seri Tiram Setia, Tanjong Karang, Sungai Janggut, Sungai Sembilang, Bestari Jaya, Kampung Kuantan, Sungai Buloh, Pasir Penambang, Puncak Alam, Sujana Utama. and Coalfields Village. The Kuala Selangor District Council was established in 1978.
The Kuala Selangor Magistrate's Court was built next to the main traffic route on Jalan Klang, which runs down to Bandar Klang (to the southeast of the Court).
Sungai Besar is the center of the city and the largest pecan located in Sabak Bernam district. Sungai Besar has been the administrative center of Sabak Bernam District Majls since 1970.
Sabak Bernam District covers 5 sub-districts, which are Sub-district Sbak, Bagan Nahkoda Omar/Sungai Air Tawar, Sungai Panjang, Pancang Bedena and Pasir Panjang and in the north, the area bordering Kampung Kota (Perak) up to Sungai Nibung area only. Currently, the area covered is up to Sungai Burong, Sekinchan. The area of Sabak Bernam District is 99,714 hectares.
The Sungai Besar Magistrate's Court used to be known as the Sabak Bernam Magistrate's Court because of its location next to the Bernam River. Frequent flash floods occur when heavy rains destroy Court files and wooden equipment. The Sungai Besar magistrate's court moved to a new site and location within the Sabak Bernam District Office Complex, next to the Sabak Bernam District Police Headquarters. The court is located close to the main traffic route leading to Bandar Klang (to the southeast of the Court) and Bandar Teluk Intan (to the northwest of the Court).
On June 14, 1978, the old Court building caught fire due to a short circuit. Court files including case and administrative files before the fire disaster were destroyed by fire. The new Court building built next to the Bernam River was inaugurated by the Sultan of Selangor, the late Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah Ibni the late Sultan Hisamuddin Alam Shah Al-Haj on 14 January 1978.
The construction of the Sungai Besar Magistrate's Court building at the Sabak Bernam District Office Complex site involves a Magistrate's Court, Registration Division, public utilities and Court staff, and several other rooms including the Court's police room, 2 separate lockers for male and female detainees, guard huts and building maintenance room. The Sungai Besar Magistrate's Court began operating in 1990 until now.