KUCHING: The establishment of a law faculty in Sarawak, offering majors in the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) and Native Customary Rights (NCR), is a positive step towards recognising and understanding of the special rights inherent to Sabah and Sarawak.
Political analyst Dr. Lee Kuok Tiung from Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) viewed this initiative as a proactive measure by the Sarawak government to address the critical issue of MA63.
“Having a specialisation in MA63 is important, especially in improving the literacy of the people of Sabah and Sarawak regarding the rights guaranteed through MA63. Perhaps some people mistake MA63 for a historical subject, but the fact is that MA63 is an international treaty. Without MA63, there is no Federation of Malaysia,” he told New Sarawak Tribune today (Dec 22).
His comments were in response to the anticipated establishment of a Universiti Malaya (UM) law faculty in Sarawak, which would include majors in NCR and MA63.
On the subject of NCR, Dr. Lee suggested upgrading native laws such as ‘Pemakai Menua’ and ‘Pulau Galau’ to a level akin to the Sarawak Ordinance.
“This issue of customary land needs to be recognised as a higher law, not to mention that many issues require attention, especially the issue of ownership and the intention to use the land for development,” he added.
Meanwhile, Dr. Suffian Mansor, a senior lecturer from the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), asserted that the establishment of such a faculty could be an effort to strengthen national integration.
“We welcome such a move, but the effort needs to involve the history of the state as a whole. The effort needs to be increased not only to recognise the land issue or MA63, but also to understand the history, racial and geographical background, and politics of Sarawak. The same goes for elements involving culture, ethnicity, economy, politics, and geography in this state,” he said.
Therefore, he asserted that a comprehensive subject is required for universities that wish to introduce this major to students.
“This can improve students’ understanding of the state of Sarawak as a whole and enable them to address current issues such as the land issue and MA63,” he added.
