SARAWAK’S 141-year-old native court is set to undergo another major revamp, with the two-year delayed cabinet paper on it almost ready, its outgoing chief registrar Michael Dawi Alli said.

He said it could be presented to the state government this month.

The native court was set up during the Brooke administration and the paper, which was to have been completed in nine months, was held up by the Covid-19 pandemic.

In a ceremony to hand over duties to his successor, Jonathan Lugoh, Alli said the cabinet paper is now “in its final stage” of preparation and could be presented to the government this month.

If the revamp proposals are approved, then the government is expected to table a bill in the state legislative assembly later in the year to amend the Native Court Ordinance, which was last amended in 1992.

Alli said a revamp was a necessity as “some of the elements in the present native court system were legacies of the Brooke era”.

The revamp will elevate the court into an independent judicial system of similar status to the shariah and civil courts.

When Sarawak gained her independence through the formation of Malaysia in 1963, the right of each state in the Federation of Malaysia to constitute the native courts was firmly enshrined in the Ninth Schedule, List III, of the Federal Constitution.

“We should move with the times instead of being stagnant,” he added.

A bill to repeal the present Native Courts Ordinance 1992 and Native Courts Rules 1993 and replace them with a new ordinance was to have been tabled in the budget sitting of the assembly in November last year.

Alli’s six years and two months as chief registrar also marks the end of his 43 years of service in the Sarawak civil service. – April 5, 2023.