KUCHING: Four new court complexes have been proposed for Sarawak under the 12th Malaysia Plan (12MP).
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Parliament and Law) Datuk Seri Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said, once approved by the federal government, the courthouses would be built in Limbang, Sri Aman, Mukah, and Kapit.
“We have brought this matter up and hopefully it will be considered by the Economic Planning Unit under the Prime Minister’s Department.
“Also, in the last two days, we have discussed with the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob on the new judicial facilities that we need to do. He is very aware of this matter,” he said in a press conference after a work visit to the Kuching Court Complex on Sunday (Jan 9).
He added the new courthouses were needed to provide the support services and facilities for judges, magistrates and also the public.
“We always talked about equality before the law, but has it been implemented? The peoples’ limited access to the law… Therefore equality before the law must be supported by having the accessibility to the court itself,” he said.
Wan Junaidi also pointed out that the new courthouses were essential to improve the judiciary facilities.
“Ideally, each division must have its own courthouse, where there are specific places for court witness, public waiting area, proceeding area, courtroom, Judge’s chamber, separate access for the Jury to the courtroom among other things,” he said.
He added that such facilities were also in tandem with the fast development taking place in Sarawak.
