A TOTAL of 12,878 cases, or 69 per cent of the 19,225 cases registered since 1992, have been resolved at the Sarawak Native Courts.
Minister in the Premier’s Department (Native Laws and Customs), Datuk Seri John Sikie Tayai, said the remaining 6,347 cases, or 31 per cent, are at various stages of the process and have not yet been resolved.
“Of the unresolved cases, 155 involve land compensation disputes totaling RM6.916 million,”he said while winding up for his ministry in the House on Monday (Nov18).
“As in previous years, the resolution of most cases at the Resident Native Courts and District Native Courts has been largely overseen by circuit magistrates
He explained that the Sarawak Native Courts have the jurisdiction to determine applications for “Deemed Native” status for individuals who are not natives of Sarawak under the Interpretation Ordinance 2005.
This legal requirement allows these individuals to deal with, purchase, and own Native Customary Rights land under the Sarawak Land Code.
“The determination of these applications through court hearings is within the jurisdiction of the Resident Native Courts, and the total number of applications received to date accounts for 2,429, or nearly 84 per cent, of the registered cases under the Resident Native Courts.
“The remaining cases are civil appeal cases from the District Native Courts. As of the beginning of this year, 1,625 applications are still unresolved,” he added.
