Child Custody in Malaysia A Practitioner’s Comprehensive Guide by Maxine Khoo Ai Theng - 2026

In the failure and dissolution of a marriage, the care and custody of and the access to children become key concerns of spouses who are going their separate ways. Much stress and anxiety arise; the stakes are irreducibly personal. Important and strategic decisions need to be taken; urgent steps and applications have to be made to protect the interests of the
parties. A clear and confident understanding of how the welfare principle is actually applied, how the tender years presumption is engaged and rebutted, how the courts approach joint custody and shared care, and how an order, once obtained, is enforced, varied, or protected against breach becomes critical.

This book provides direct and practical guidance on key factors to be considered in handling a child custody matter. Throughout, readers are reminded of the welfare of the child, which is the paramount principle which determines the decision of the court when making custody, access and maintenance orders. The relevant statutory provisions are addressed, and the key case authorities summarised. Pre-emptive steps to prevent the relocation of children overseas are discussed and the use of port alert orders as well as other enforcement measures are explained.

The valuable information provided in this guide includes advocacy and strategy in custody proceedings, a clear account of procedure from the filing of custody proceedings to judgment, measures to handle domestic violence, and instructive checklists and drafting tips. The useful chapter on mediation, collaborative practice and alternative dispute resolution in custody proceedings offers ideas for the resolution of custody conflicts away from the courts.
The deep dive into all relevant matters concerning the determination of the custody of children meets an important need of family law practitioners, counsellors, judges, disputing parties and all those interested in the welfare of children following a contested custody dispute.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Family Law in Malaysia: The Constitutional and Legislative Architecture
2. The Power of the Court to Make Custody Orders
3. The Welfare Principle: Foundation, Dimensions and Application
4. Factors in the Judicial Determination of Custody
5. The Tender Years Presumption: Mechanics, Rebuttal and Application
6. Joint Custody, Care and Control, and the Architecture of Shared Parenting
7. The Right of Access: Principles, Drafting and Enforcement
8. Hadhanah: Custody in Muslim Families
9. Child Maintenance: The Financial Framework
10. Domestic Violence, Injunctions and the Custody Assessment
11. Variation of Custody Orders
12. Enforcement of Custody and Access Orders
13. International Child Abduction: Prevention and Recovery
14. Procedure in Custody Proceedings: From Filing to Judgment
15. Custody Orders Subject to Conditions
16. Advocacy and Strategy in Custody Proceedings
17. Welfare of Each Child Considered Independently: Sibling Issues
18. Current Issues and Reform Directions in Malaysian Child Custody Law
19. Injunctions in Custody Proceedings: Restraint of Removal, Non-Molestation and Ouster Orders
20. Mediation, Collaborative Practice and Alternative Dispute Resolution in Custody Proceedings
21. Comparative Perspectives: Custody Law in Australia, England and Singapore
22. The Child at the Centre: A Concluding Reflection
23. A Practitioner's Checklist and Quick Reference Guide
24. Forms and Precedents: A Practical Reference
25. Appendix – Legal Aid in Malaysian Family Proceedings

AUTHOR

Maxine Khoo Ai Theng is a Partner at Messrs Ng, Zainurul, Seke & Khoo, a Malaysian law firm with offices in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor. She graduated with an LLB (Hons) from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia and was admitted as an Advocate and Solicitor of the High Court in Malaya in 2014.

Family law forms a core part of her practice. She acts for parents in contested custody, care and control and access proceedings in the High Court, and regularly handles divorce petitions, child and spousal maintenance, the division of matrimonial assets, applications to vary custody orders, intervener applications and committal proceedings for breach of custody and access orders. She also advises at the pre-litigation stage on negotiated parenting arrangements and mediation, and has a particular interest in the enforcement of custody orders and in the protection of children against removal from the jurisdiction.

She was named Rising Star at the Asian Legal Business (ALB) Malaysia Law Awards 2022, has been a finalist for Woman Lawyer of the Year at the same awards, and is recognised in The Legal 500 Asia-Pacific. She also produces legal education content for the public on family law in English, Malay and Chinese.