Gerawat: Study on Sarawak Bumiputera Court reform concluded, but needs fine-tuning

KUCHING (Aug 8): The study on the restructuring and upgrading of the status of the Sarawak Bumiputera Court has been concluded, but the proposals involving the new structure and jurisdiction of the court require several amendments, said Datuk Gerawat Gala.

The Deputy Minister in the Premier’s Department said this is because the amendments involve state laws and the Federal Constitution.

“Some current state laws and enactments need to be repealed, and there are new ordinances or laws that need to be implemented.

“Clearly, this will take time,” he told the Legal Pluralism and Indigeneity in Sarawak and Sabah (Issues and Challenges) conference, held at the Dayak Cultural Foundation (DCF) building here yesterday.

Gerawat mentioned that in supporting this effort, the state government sent a delegation to New Zealand to study the Maori Court and their laws to adopt the best practices as a guide.

He also said another state delegation was recently sent to British Columbia and Ontario in Canada to study the Indigenous Courts and the laws of the First Nations people so that Sarawak can adopt their best practices.

“I was part of that delegation, but overall, I would say that what we have here is better than what they have. However, there are certain things that we find useful to learn from and hope to adopt to improve our system here.”

Gerawat added that efforts to send such delegations demonstrate the seriousness of the state government in ensuring the future viability, relevance, and continued applicability of native laws or Bumiputera laws to align with civil laws and civil courts.

The one-day conference was held in collaboration with the DCF to identify issues involving legal pluralism with a specific focus on indigenous people, as well as to explore the foundation of customary laws and institutions, and jurisdiction in the legal pluralism constitution.

The conference also aims to address cross-cultural and intergenerational issues embedded in environmental governance, land and resource management and access rights, and featured three sessions, each with an experienced moderator.

Also present were the Court of Appeal president Tan Sri Abang Iskandar Abang Hashim, Centre for Legal Pluralism and Indigenous Law at the University of Malaya director Dr Ramy Bulan, and Dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of Malaya Prof Dr Jason Chuah Chin Tik.