Law of Malaysia

Module 6

Contract, tort, property, family and inheritance: the Contracts Act 1950, remedies, negligence, land and title, buying property, marriage and divorce and succession for Muslims and non-Muslims

Everyday life in Malaysia runs on private law. Contracts are governed by a statute, the Contracts Act 1950, derived from the Indian Contract Act and therefore different in several points from English contract law, while torts such as negligence still follow English common law through the Civil Law Act 1956. Land is registered under the Torrens system of the National Land Code 1965 (and the separate codes of Sabah and Sarawak), and a foreigner buying land needs the consent of the State Authority. Family law and inheritance divide by religion: non-Muslims are under civil statutes, Muslims under Islamic family law enacted by the states and applied by the Syariah courts. This module explains how the system works for the people who sign, buy, marry and inherit in Malaysia.

General education on the law of Malaysia, using invented people and businesses. It states laws and procedures in simplified form and is not legal advice. The law and its practice change, and every case turns on its facts, the state and the authority concerned. It does not offer legal representation or a legal opinion on any case. Consult a Malaysian advocate and solicitor for any real matter.

This course was written on 5 November 2026. To the best of our knowledge, it describes the law of Malaysia as it stood on that date. Laws change, and we may have missed or misunderstood something. If you notice a change, or have other information, please do not hesitate to contact us: we will review it and update the course. We do not claim to be the final source of the law.