Native Courts handle 11,003 civil cases

KUCHING: Up to May 30, the Native Courts of Sarawak handled 11,003 civil cases involving native customary rights (NCR) land cases, applications for native community recognition and custom violation cases of which 5,962 were still pending.

State Native Laws and Customs Assistant Minister Datuk John Sikie Tayai said for cases involving NCR land disputes and applications to be known as native communities, there are currently 19 appointed full-time magistrates.

He said it was made up of a president of Native Court of Appeal, two Resident’s Native Court magistrates and 16 District Native Court magistrates.

“In addition, the Native Courts of Sarawak is also run by 52 exofficio magistrates comprising 12 division residents and 40 district officers,” he told the Sarawak State Legislative Assembly sitting here yesterday.

He was replying to a question from Yussibnosh Balo (PBBTellian) on the current number of magistrates and cases that had yet to be settled in the Sarawak Native Court.

John Sikie said custom violation cases were handled by 2,546 community leaders, 390 penghulu and 87 pemanca or temengong (headman).

Meanwhile, Community Wellbeing Assistant Minister Datuk Francis Harden Hollis said 301 drug traffickers were arrested by police between January and June this year compared to 498 in 2017.

He said in comparing the percentage of the effectiveness of the overall drug prevention measures nationwide, the Sarawak police was ranked first for the first time in 2017 for Dangerous Drugs (Special Preventive Measures) Act 1985 category and second for the drug dealers’ confiscation category.

“This is in line with the increasing efforts made by the police to combat drug trafficking,” he said when replying to Datuk Juanda Jaya (PBB-Jemoreng).