Given the current situation brought about by the coronavirus pandemic, the Malaysian economy has been badly affected with serious supply chain disruptions due to the nationwide lockdown. This has resulted in the tightening of companies’ cash flows and has given rise to an urgent need for companies to implement rescue mechanisms and restructure their businesses.

The government has provided temporary relief against winding up petitions for companies between 23 April 2020 to 31 December 2020 (“Prescribed Duration”). This has come about by increasing the minimum amount of indebtedness needed for a deemed statutory insolvency and by exempting the compliance period for a statutory demand for payment of 21 days, and permitting compliance within 6 months. This was done by gazetting Companies (Exemption) (No 2) Order 2020 (the “Exemption Order”) pursuant to S.466 of the Companies Act 2016 (the “Act”).