By Christopher Lidom
KUCHING, May 23: Bukit Semuja assemblyman John Ilus (GPS–PBB) questioned relevant authorities on the status of cases that have been filed in the Native Courts of Sarawak.
According to John, there are cases from as far back as 2016 with no further developments.
“Are they going to be automatically be regarded as a native without going through all the necessary procedures such as interviews and so on?
“How long does it takes to get the final result? Is it approved or not?” asked John during the Sarawak Legislative Assembly (DUN) sitting today.
He added that the Interpretation (Amendment) Bill 2022 was unanimously passed at the DUN in the previous sitting (Feb 15), which provides native status to children of mixed marriages of which one parent is a native.
The Interpretation (Amendment) Bill added 12 additional races to the Schedule of the Interpretation Ordinance and gave effect to a recent amendment in Article 161A of the Federal Constitution on the indigenous races of Sarawak.
The 12 additional races are Vaie, Sa’ban, Tatau, Tring, Dali, Jatti Miriek, Narom, Lakiput, Bagatan, Bakong, Bemali, and Berawan. It also updated the list of indigenous races in Sarawak, including three Orang Ulu sub-ethnicities, namely the Saban, Lakiput and Berawan. — DayakDaily
