THE government through the State Development Office has thus far upgraded or renovated 21 Native Courtrooms in various districts and sub-districts in the state.
Minister in the Premier’s Department Datuk John Sikie Tayai said for this year, two more courtrooms have been approved for such namely, Belaga District Office and Matu District Office, with the State Development Office as the implementing agency for these two projects.
“The upgrading programme for the courtrooms started in 2015 under the Sarawak and Sabah Bumiputera Special Programme and up to the end of 2022, an allocation of over RM3.2 million had been spent on upgrading works.
“Funds for the courtroom renovation and upgrading are provided by the federal government through the State Development Office,” he said when delivering his ministerial winding-up speech at DUN on Monday (May 22).
Sikie added the Office of the Chief Registrar is also now in the process of conducting a survey to determine the needs and financial requirement to upgrade, standardise and equip all the other courts throughout the state.
“The ultimate objective is to equip all the courtrooms in the state to meet the required standard in terms of layout, furniture and fittings and ICT facilities,” he said.
On another note, he said the Office of the Chief Registrar had been organising a series of Capacity Building Programmes involving training, workshops, seminars, and briefings to Native Courts Presiding Officers since 2014, with the Capacity Building Programme also involving the ex-officio Magistrates and officials handling Native Courts matters at the Resident and District Office.
“The programmes are aimed at enhancing the skills and competency of the Presiding Officers particularly the ex-officio Magistrates in handling their court cases.
“For this year, three more Capacity Building Programmes would be carried out on a regional basis namely for the southern, central and northern regions, with the target group being the District Officers and Administrative Officers at the Districts and Sub-Districts as these are the principal officers who should carry out the functions of the District Native Courts.
“This is consistent with the focus of the Office of the Chief Registrar to settle the outstanding cases expeditiously through the District Officers who are ex-officio magistrates,” he said.
With respect to headmen and community leaders dealing mainly with breaches of the ‘adat’, he said, the Capacity Building Programme would focus on the newly appointed headmen and community leaders.
“This is to equip them with the awareness, knowledge, and competency to perform their judicial tasks based on the provisions of the Native Courts Ordinance,” said Sikie.
