By Yee Mei
KUCHING, Nov 29: Majlis Adat Istiadat Sarawak will embark on a journey to digitalise work processes such as converting materials on various adat (customary law of the indigenous peoples), traditions, and practices into digital format.
This was said by Minister in Premier of Sarawak’s Department Datuk John Sikie Tayai when delivering his winding-up speech in the Sarawak Legislative Assembly (DUN) sitting today.
He said in 2020, the council had digitised 4,856 units of analog media as digital surrogates inside the cataloguing of oral traditions system (COOTS) to preserve the research materials and oral traditions on a digital platform, ensuring the availability and continuity of current and future research activities by generations to come.
“This is due to the deteriorating state of the analog medias.
“The council’s archive stores research materials and oral traditions collected by various researchers consisting of physical journals and analogue media such as cassettes and VHS tape recordings,” he said.
Sikie also added that this supports the digital transformation outlined in the Sarawak Post Covid-19 Development Strategy (PCDS) 2030.
Meanwhile, Sikie also said that in 2021, the council embarked on a project to redevelop the Native Marriage Electronic System (NAMES) — one of the three systems that register marriages and divorce in Sarawak — through the 12th Malaysia Plan (12MP) ICT Projects.
“Through this project, NAMES services will be available to the public in 2023 to apply for Adat Marriage Pre-Registration on the Sarawak Government Portal using Sarawak ID. NAMES will also be integrated with relevant government agency’s system to enhance inter-operability and data verification operations,” he said.
NAMES was developed in 2010 to centralise the registration and issuance of Adat Marriage and Adat Divorce certificates. It was deployed throughout Sarawak in 2012, and its current users consist of 45 District Offices and 21 Sub-District Offices statewide. — DayakDaily
