1 Introduction

This chapter discusses the application of knock-for-knock in countries unaccustomed with the clause. The use of legal provisions without a proper understanding of them will cause the indemnity and hold harmless clauses to be interpreted outside their meaning, potentially opening the door to abuse by a party in a dominant position. This chapter provides a case study of how these concerns might become mixed up in Malaysia. This chapter is divided into two major sections. The first section provides an overview of Malaysian legal framework including the statutory and judicial approach on indemnity clauses in Malaysia. The second section investigates the issues and problems in Malaysia with regard to risk allocation provisions and indemnity clauses under the oilfield service contracts. This section also presents the research findings of the empirical studies that have been conducted in Malaysia and the analyses on indemnity clauses under oilfield service contracts which were used and drafted by three operators in Malaysia.