Kuala Lumpur, Jan 28 – Next month, Wanita MIC will open a bankruptcy and legal aid clinic to assist and provide free service to Indian women facing legal and financial problems.
Its chief, Mohana Muniandy said the clinic would also focus on low-income single mothers who needed legal assistance, as well as provide counselling to women in the throes of a divorce or were victims of domestic violence.
Noting that bankruptcy cases were on the rise every year, she told a press conference here today that in 2012, as many as 19,575 individuals were declared bankrupt.
“Of this number, 30 per cent were women, about 14 per cent of which were Indian women.
“Although the legal aid clinic will focus on helping Indians, women from other races can also receive the service from the clinic which will operate on the third Saturday of each month.
“We have discussed the matter with Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Nancy Shukri, and she has agreed to help us set it up for those (women) in need, especially those going through bankruptcy,” she said.
Mohana said to ensure that the objectives of the clinic were reached, the wing would work together with the Legal Aid Bureau and the Department of Insolvency.
To begin with, the clinic will operate at the MIC headquarters in Jalan Rahmat near here.
Nevertheless, those in rural areas could contact the wing in the respective states for the relevant services, said the Wanita MIC chief.
– Bernama
