ANNOUNCEMENT
March 06, 2014
CIPAA Conference 2014 Draws 1000 Participants from the industry
CIPAA CONFERENCE 2014 DRAWS 1000 PARTICIPANTS FROM THE INDUSTRY
On 25 February 2014, the Kuala Lumpur Regional Centre for Arbitration (KLRCA) together with the Malaysian Society of Adjudicators jointly organized the 2ndedition of the CIPAA Conference. The theme for the conference was “Getting Paid: CIPAA Updates.”
The inaugural CIPAA Conference was held on 24 October 2012 at KL Hilton. It was attended by 450 delegates. The 2014 conference was held in the Renaissance Kuala Lumpur with more than 1000 delegates from the construction industry and related professions.
The conference was officially opened by the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, YB Puan Hajah Nancy Haji Shukri, and was followed by presentations by prominent figures in the practice and law of adjudication such as Professor Datuk Sundra Rajoo, Ir Harbans Singh, Wilfred Abraham, Ivan Loo, Lam Wai Loon, Chow Kok Fong, and Oon Chee Kheng.
Meanwhile, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Nancy Shukri, in expressing her support, said
“The introduction of this Act will be a great relief for most contractors in Malaysia as it is one of the solutions to delayed payments, non-payment and disputes in the construction sector as disputes could be resolved through statutory adjudication instead of long-drawn trials and waiting period.
“With CIPAA, Malaysia has now joined the likes of the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and Singapore as nations that recognise the importance of resolving payment dispute in a fair, just and expeditious manner,” she said.
The first session of the conference was handled by Ir Harbans Singh. He spoke on the parameters and application of the CIPAA 2012. Thereafter, Professor Datuk Sundra Rajoo updated the delegates on the Regulations expected to be promulgated pursuant to CIPAA 2012.
After the networking break, the conference continued with a session on “Effective Management of the Adjudication Process & Enforcement of Adjudication Decisions.” Lam Wai Loon presented on “Making and defending a claim under CIPAA” followed by Wilfred Abraham who spoke on “choosing an adjudicator”.
The intriguing topic of “Creative Drafting of Construction Contracts” was provided by Ivan Loo. This presentation was followed by “Enforcement of Adjudication Decisions and Jurisdictional Challenges” by Oon Chee Kheng.
Chow Kok Fong, an esteemed speaker from Singapore with the topic of exemptions from CIPAA 2012 being hotly debated by all stakeholders within the adjudication community spoke on the topic of “Escaping the Reach of CIPAA.” He reviewed the 2014 Singaporean legislation and discussed the exemptions that could occur under CIPAA 2012. To date Singapore has not utilized the exemption order.
The 2014 CIPAA Conference garnered wide-spread praise from delegates and participants as timely and informative.
CIPAA was first mooted 10 years ago to solve the long-standing issue of delayed payments to contractors and sub-contractors which had caused tremendous hardship to the industry, especially the smaller sub-contractors. Construction Industry Payment and Adjudication Act (CIPAA), was passed and gazetted in 2012. The industry is still waiting for the effective operation date.
Link to CIPAA Conference 2014 Picture Gallery