KUCHING: Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah has welcomed a proposal to update the definition of natives of Sarawak in the Federal Constitution.
“We support the proposal presented by Assistant Minister in the Chief Minister’s Department (Law, State-Federal Relations and Project Monitoring) Datuk Sharifah Hasidah Sayeed Aman Ghazali.
“This proposal is good and I hope the relevant minister will refine it especially with regard to the rights of the state in line with what was agreed upon during the establishment of Malaysia,” the Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) vice-president said in a Facebook post on Wednesday (Sept 22).
He believed that no race would like to be perceived as ‘others’. He added that if the definition of natives of Sarawak could be changed, it would be a form of recognition for them.
“Apart from this, the identity of that race will stand out once the definition is changed,” he said.
Earlier, Sharifah Hasidah said the definition of natives of Sarawak in the Federal Constitution had always been a concern as the current definition does not accurately reflect the numerous different races of the natives in the state.
“Often, apart from the Malay, Chinese, and Dayak, the rest of the natives would be conveniently categorised as ‘others’ or ‘lain-lain’,” she said.
