A Creditor’s Guide To Garnishee Proceedings In Malaysia

For creditors in Malaysia with a court judgment in their favour, a garnishee order can be the quickest and most effective enforcement method when a debtor continues to fail to pay.

Specifically, it allows a creditor to directly collect (or ‘garnish’) money owed to the debtor by third parties such as clients, tenants, and banks holding the debtor’s accounts or other parties that the debtor has receivables from.

Naturally, the facts of each case should always guide the choice of payment enforcement method, and alternative options may be preferable depending on circumstances,

For those considering legal action against a debtor, our guide walks you through the key stages of a garnishee proceeding, when it is most effective, and how Rule & Co assists creditors in obtaining garnishee orders against debtors.

Alternatively, skip the reading and get in touch for free recovery assessment.

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Garnishee proceeding procedure 

Successful garnishee proceedings involve three main stages:

1. Ex-parte application

2. Inter-parte hearing, and

3. Granting of a Garnishee Order Absolute

In general, from stage one to three, expect the process to take around four to five months, with complicated cases taking longer.

For clarity, in the sections below, we refer to the reader as the judgment creditor, the debtor as the judgment debtor, and third parties as the garnishees.

Stage 1: Ex-parte application for Garnishee Order to Show Cause

At this stage, we identify garnishees who may hold money for your judgement debtor and prepare for any objections either the garnishee or judgement debtor may have.

If we determine there is merit in proceeding, and with your approval, we will file an ex parte application for a Garnishee Order to Show Cause.

This is an initial court order that, if granted, serves two key purposes:

1. Freezes any funds held by the garnishee for the judgment debtor, and

2. Requires the garnishee to appear before the court to confirm if such funds exist

Ex-parte means the application is filed without notifying the judgement debtor or potential garnishees, ensuring funds cannot be moved or concealed before the court can act.

Once the order is granted, it will be served on both the judgment debtor and the garnishee, requiring them to appear in court as we move to the next stage.

Stage 2: Inter-parte hearing

All parties appear in court and the garnishees must disclose what they owe to the judgment debtor, or in the case of banks, how much they hold in the debtor’s accounts. Our goal is to obtain a Garnishee Order Absolute compelling a garnishee to pay directly to you. 

Objections, valid or not, may be raised to prevent this, namely that:

• the garnishee does not owe the debtor any money

• the debt or funds are not yet due

• the debt is disputed or subject to another claim, or

• the funds are held in a joint capacity

As your legal representative, we will address all objections and if needed, present evidence that the funds or debt in question belongs to the judgment debtor.

This is why we emphasise research at the outset, as if we assess that there is a high likelihood of a valid objection, we would have advised against proceeding to this stage at all.

If the court is satisfied, it may then issue a Garnishee Order Absolute.

Stage 3: Securing a Garnishee Order Absolute

This is the final order directing the garnishee to pay you directly. 

Depending on the type of garnishee and the nature of money owed, compliance cannot be taken for granted. In cases where the garnishment is an ongoing process, our role now is to ensure continuous compliance with the court’s order, and failing that, take further enforcement steps.

When to use a garnishee order

A garnishee order is most effective under two conditions: 

1. The judgment debtor has cash funds or receivables held by third parties

2. The third parties are financially capable of complying with the court order

The classic, typical example is when the judgment debtor maintains an account with a bank. In such cases, garnishee orders can be faster and less confrontational than seizing physical assets or initiating bankruptcy or winding-up proceedings.

This is why we always conduct preliminary research, and in some cases, recommend starting with a judgment debtor summons (JDS) to force a judgment debtor to disclose their sources of income and assets.

When other enforcement methods might be better

For the sake of argument, should investigations reveal the judgement debtor:

• does not have any known bank accounts or potential garnishees, or

• primarily stores their wealth in physical assets (e.g. land)

• owes multiple creditors in addition to you

Alternative enforcement routes may be better, namely a writ of seizure and sale to seize and auction the debtor’s property, or even bankruptcy / winding-up proceedings to ensure equitable recovery.

And of course, if a judgement debtor is willing to negotiate, we are firm advocates (literally and figuratively) of out of court settlements at any stage of the process; with necessary safeguards in place.

Consideration of legal fees

While a Garnishee Order can be an effective way to enforce a judgment, it’s important to remember that it can only be obtained after securing the judgement in the first place.

As a civil suit can easily take months to years and thousands of Ringgit, an out-of-court settlement is almost always more cost and time-efficient. Before involving the courts, we invite you to get in touch for a free debt recovery assessment with our legal team to discuss the most practical way forward.

That’s it from us—we wish you a smooth and successful debt recovery 🙂

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If your reminders have been ignored or you simply don’t want the hassle of chasing tenants, Rule & Co is a debt recovery law firm that helps creditors recover debts via legal strategies that minimize upfront cost, maximise recovery, and safeguard your reputation.