This dataset is tabulated from records in the Legal Aid Department's case management system (Sistem Pengurusan Kes Jabatan Bantuan Guaman, SPK-JBG). Each legal advisory session provided at a JBG branch is registered in the system with its date, branch, and a classification of the legal matter; this dataset counts those registrations. Every row is the number of sessions for a unique combination of month, branch, case category, case subcategory and case type.

Legal matters are classified in three levels. Category is the branch of law: criminal (Jenayah), civil (Sivil), or Syariah. Subcategory distinguishes matters within JBG's statutory remit to represent clients (bidang kuasa) from those outside it (luar bidang kuasa), where JBG may advise but not act. Case type is the specific matter, given either as the statute engaged (e.g. Akta Kontrak 1950) or the relief sought (e.g. Tuntutan Nafkah Anak).

Values in the categorical columns are given in Malay.

Coverage. Only advisory sessions registered in SPK-JBG are captured. Informal advice, sessions handled outside the system, and demand that never reaches a JBG counter are not represented.

Sabah is absent for 2022. JBG's 2022 records contain no entries for the Sabah branch. Sabah figures for 2022 are therefore zero rather than missing, and the 2022 national total is understated by roughly the 1,000-2,000 sessions Sabah records in a typical year.

Sessions, not people. The figures count advisory sessions, not distinct individuals. A person who returns for further advice is counted each time.

Branch, not residence. The branch records where advice was given, not where the client lives. State figures describe where JBG delivered services, and should not be read as demand by state of residence - particularly for Ibu Pejabat in W.P. Putrajaya, which serves walk-ins from across the Klang Valley.

Unclassified records. About 11,900 sessions (6.5% of the total, concentrated in 2022 and 2024) were registered without a subcategory or case type. These are labelled Tidak Dinyatakan so that totals reconcile with the branch-level dataset, and should be treated as a residual rather than a category of legal matter.

Case types changed in 2022. JBG revised its case-type classification that year. Most types carry across the revision, but not all: the civil maintenance types used before 2022 (Nafkah, Mengubah Perintah Nafkah, Kuatkuasa Perintah Nafkah) were split into separate child, spouse, and child-and-spouse variants from 2022 onwards, and broad types such as Undang-Undang Buruh have no direct counterpart afterwards. A case-type series that starts or stops at the 2021/2022 boundary may reflect this reclassification rather than a change in demand. Categories and subcategories are unaffected and are comparable throughout.