By referring to Section 8 of Unclaimed Moneys Act 1965, unclaimed moneys are

classified into three specific categories. The first category is all sums of money which are

legally payable to the owner and have remained unpaid for a period of not less than one year

after they have become payable. For example, payments due to employees such as salaries,

wages, bonuses and commissions, and also dividends and profits declared for distribution.

The second category is all sums of money to the credit of an account that has not been

operated in whatever manner by the owner for a period of not less than seven years. For

example, savings accounts, current accounts and fixed deposits. The third and last category of

unclaimed moneys is all sums of money to the credit of a trade account which has remained

dormant for a period of not less than two years.

Unclaimed Moneys Act 1965 has provided that there are several entities that are

required to comply with the rules and regulations that have been set out. They are local

companies and foreign companies incorporated under the Companies Act 1965, any Board

established to manage employees provident fund superannuation schemes or any other fund

relating to retirement benefits, all societies and co-operatives societies registered under any

written law, all corporations, public authorities and trade unions, and unincorporated body of

persons associated together for the purpose of carrying on business.

Pertaining to the issue of unclaimed dividends, it must be submitted to the Registrar

of Unclaimed Moneys if they have remained unpaid for more than a year after they become

payable. A company or a firm is required to keep a register of these unclaimed dividends at its

principal place of business as provided under Section 10(1) of the Unclaimed Moneys Act

1965. This register is in the form of UMA-3 which has been issued by the Registrar of

Unclaimed Moneys. To comply with Section 10(2), every company shall annually, not later

than March 31 lodge the original UMA-3 to the Registrar with information of unclaimed

dividends held up the last day of December of the previous year.

 Other than that, two copies of UMA-3 signed by a director or the secretary must be

sent to the Percetakan Nasional Malaysia Berhad (PNMB) for publication in the Gazette. The

fourth copy of UMA-3 must be retained by the company or the firm for its own records.

Next, the company or the firm must also prepare three copies of UMA-4 which is the

covering letter for submission of UMA-3 or also be known as remittance form. Two copies

are then submitted to the Registrar of Unclaimed Moneys together with UMA-3 and a cheque

for payment of unclaimed moneys which should be made out in favour of Jabatan Akauntan

Negara Malaysia.

A company or firm that fails to comply with the Unclaimed Moneys Act 1965 shall be

guilty of an offence and the company and every officer of the company who is in default shall

be liable, on conviction, to a fine not exceeding RM20,000 and shall, in the case of a

continuing offence, be liable to a further fine not exceeding RM1,000 for each day during

which the offence continues. According to Section 10(3), the company or firm may apply for

an extension of submission of the unclaimed dividends by submitting an appeal to the

Registrar.

Owners in respect of the unclaimed dividends may recover them from the company at

any time before those moneys are paid to the Consolidated Trust Account. After the

unclaimed dividends have been paid to the account, the owners may claim back the dividends

from the Registrar of Unclaimed Moneys themselves either in person or in writing. A

company or firm shall issue a confirmation letter to the owner if there is any claim upon the

submission of unclaimed dividends to the Registrar. The letter shall contain details regarding

the unclaimed dividends submitted to the registrar which will be the supporting document for

the process of recovering the payments to the owners.

Guidance on Unclaimed Moneys Act 1965. (2009, July). Retrieved from

http://portal.anm.gov.my/public_html/infoSemasa/panduanAWTJulai2010.pdf

Kang Shew Meng. (2005). Handbook on Company Secretarial Practice in Malaysia.

LexisNexis Malaysia.