Parties to civil litigation in Malaysia are, in practice, expected only to disclose documents on which they intend to rely in the proceedings, subject to the right of the opposing party to seek an order for wider discovery of documents.

Pursuant to the Rules of Court 2012, the court will give pre-trial directions during case management. Pre-trial directions will typically provide for a period within which the parties must file a bundle of the documents that any party intends to rely on or refer to. However, a party can seek an order for the discovery of documents beyond those that have been voluntarily disclosed. The documents that a party may be ordered to discover are:

• The documents on which the party relies or will rely
• The documents that could:
  • Adversely affect the party's own case
  • Adversely affect another party's case
  • Support another party's case