The recent call by Chief Justice of Sabah and Sarawak, Tan Sri Richard Malanjum for Sabah to have a Native Judicial Department is lauded.
It is high time that the Native Courts be given appropriate recognition in Sabah. And having a Native Judicial Department is one way of safeguarding the position of the Native Court.
The Native Court is the oldest justice system in Sabah, preceding even the Syariah court. Unfortunately, today the native court is seen as an inferior court, in fact Section 9 of the Natives Court Enactment 1992 gives the impression that the Native Court is inferior to the Syariah court.
Also the decision by certain government departments not to recognize marriages authorized by the Native Court is also an insult to the court.
It is also high time that the Director of the Native Affairs Council be appointed from among the non-Muslim natives as Muslims already have the Syariah court. In fact many of the matters being dealt with in the Natives Court are already within Syariah jurisdiction. Furthermore Syariah law is based on Islam, therefore it is complete and there is no reason why Muslims should go to the Natives Court except in cases where it involves both Muslims and non-Muslims, such as marriage between a Muslim native and non-Muslim native.
And the native court should be accorded a similar position to that of the Syariah court in the Federal Constitution.
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2 comments:
Malaysia has declared as an Islamic country since the day it formed on 16/Sep/1963... so why whine about it now ?... but the Tanah Melayu colonisation idea causing much troubles in East Malaysia now.
I think not just whining, by fighting against it, we are keeping hope alive to prevent Sabah from total Islamicization! Thats why we had 20 points remember, to stop this thing from happening.
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