KUCHING: Sarawak plans to bring the native court on par with the civil and syariah court structures.
Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg said he had directed Mahkamah Adat to look into the possibility of upgrading the native court to make it equivalent to the syariah court and civil court.
“The magistrates must be very well-versed in the customs and the common law behind the native court.
“It is needed to deal with native issues particularly ‘tanah adat’ because the customs are different from others,” he said when closing the 7th Sarawak Culture Symposium here, yesterday.
On the156 resolutions of the symposium, he said the state government would look into and deliberate on them.
“I noted that in all your discussions and resolutions, you have put in quite a bit of thought. I officiated at the closing ceremonies of all your symposiums and I understand the resolutions will be compiled by the Ministry of Welfare, Community Wellbeing, Women, Family and Childhood Development.”
He believed that the resolutions covered culture, heritage, education, land, digital economy and business, civil service, women and youth, politics and religion.
“A wide range of issues were covered though it is a cultural symposium. It cannot be denied that our economic development will also influence our cultural development and future,” he said.
“You have taken into account and accommodated socio-cultural perspectives in your resolutions, presented your needs and hopes and economic aspirations to achieve better living standards for all.”
He also noted that in relation to the symposium’s theme of “Managing Culture in the Digital Age”, the participants had also shared their thoughts on actions that could be taken not only to disseminate their culture but also to document them for posterity in the form of research, digitalisation, producing videos and e-books on culture and languages.
Turning to the young, Johari hoped that they would be able to re-interpret their cultures and protect them in future.
“That is our heritage – what our forefathers and past leaders have passed down to us. We must not let any divisive elements come into play and rock this unique unity and harmony that we have existing among us all.
“We all know that culture is not stagnant; it will flourish through interaction with other cultures. They are also affected by the environment.
“The theme of the seventh cultural symposium poses the question as to how the digital age will affect our cultures. Digital technology has become so much a part of our way of life today that our waking moments are filled with a digital device in one form or another,” he said.
