Prior to the amendment, section 3(2) of the Bankruptcy Act 1967 provides that bankruptcy notices must be served in a "prescribed manner". This could lead to an undesirable situation where a person could go bankrupt without realizing it. The reason why this situation could occur is due to the fact that the bankruptcy notices were not delivered personally to the debtor but were delivered via a replacement service. However, this strange situation can be avoided after the amendment of section 9(b) and (c) of the Bankruptcy (Amendment) Act, 2017. Furthermore, section 3(2A) of the Insolvency Act, 1967 provides that bankruptcy notices must be personally served on a debtor. [1] This means that replacement service is still possible but with more stringent requirements. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Referring to Section 3(2A) of the Insolvency Act 1967, a substituted service will only be permitted when creditors can demonstrate to the courts that the debtor had attempted to avoid bankruptcy service. The creditor must be able to prove to the satisfaction of the court that the debtor, with intent to obstruct, delay or evade personal service, leaves Malaysia or, being outside Malaysia, remains outside Malaysia; or he leaves his home or is otherwise absent, or he locks himself in his home or closes his office to avoid personal notification of the bankruptcy declaration. This new provision imposes the obligation on creditors to demonstrate that the debtor intends to avoid receiving the bankruptcy notice. In the Insolvency Rules 2017, rule 94 also provides that a bankruptcy notice is valid for 3 months from the issue of the bankruptcy notice. . This is without prejudice to the court's power to extend the deadline for notification of bankruptcy. In the case of Yap Heng Cheong v CitiBank Bhd, the court held that if the creditor is unable to serve the bankruptcy notice within 3 months, it can apply for an extension of the bankruptcy notice. Rule 95 of the Insolvency Rules 2017 provides that a bankruptcy notice must be served and service must be proved in the same manner as for service of a creditor's application. (Rule 108). Referring to Rule 108, the creditor's application must be served personally and the service must be made by an officer of the court or by the creditor or by his lawyer or a person in his employ. However, if personal service cannot be made because the debtor stays away to avoid service of the application, the court may order substantive service. This can be seen in the case of Kamaruddin v United Motor, where the court held that the methods of substitute notice included: posting the bankruptcy notice on the notice board in the High Court; advertise the bankruptcy notice in the 2 major newspapers; and mail the bankruptcy notice to the debtor's last known address. The main purpose of the substitute notification is to bring the bankruptcy notice to the attention of the debtor. The notification of bankruptcy notice must be considered valid and sufficient if this objective is achieved. In Australia, a bankruptcy notice must be served within 6 months of the date the notice is issued. Regulation 16.01 of the Insolvency Regulations 1996 provides that the bankruptcy notice may be sent by post; by courier; delivers personally to the person; sent by facsimile or electronic transmission; or via replacement service. As in Malaysia, the service-5