According to a copy of the Bill sighted by The Borneo Post today, the Bill seeks to amend the Interpretation Ordinance 2005. — Borneo Post pic
KUCHING, Feb 13 — A new Schedule on races indigenous to Sarawak will be revealed in the Interpretation (Amendment) Bill 2022 to be tabled at the Sarawak Legislative Assembly (DUN) Special Dewan Sitting.
According to a copy of the Bill sighted by The Borneo Post, the Bill seeks to amend the Interpretation Ordinance 2005.
This includes substituting the Schedule in the Ordinance with a new one to insert additional races considered to be indigenous to Sarawak.
It will also include a person who is a citizen and is a natural child of a parent of race indigenous to Sarawak and satisfies the conditions and requirements imposed by Majlis Mesyuarat Kerajaan Negeri for recognition of such a person as a native of Sarawak.
The amendment will also provide the power of the Majlis Mesyuarat Kerajaan Negeri to amend the Schedule.
As outlined in the schedule under Section 3 of the Interpretation Ordinance 2005, races that are native to Sarawak are the Bidayuh or the ‘Land Dayaks’, Bukitan, Bisayah, Dusun, the Ibans or the ‘Sea Dayaks’, Kadayan, Kelabit, Kayan, Kenyah (including Sabup and Sipeng), Kajang (including Sekapan, Kejaman, Lahanan, Punan, Tanjong and Kanowit), Lugat, Lisum, Malay, Melanau, Murut or Lun Bawang, Penan, Sian, Tagal, Tabun, Ukit and any admixture of these races with one another.
The tabling of the Bill to amend the Ordinance comes shortly after the amendments to four articles of the Federal Constitution relating to the rights of Sabah and Sarawak, which were unanimously passed by the Dewan Rakyat on December 14, and came into force on February 11 (Friday).
The amendments, enshrined in the Constitution (Amendment) Act 2022, involved the list of the states of the Federation in Clause 2 of Article 1; the definition of the Federation and the new definition of Malaysia Day in Clause 2 of Article 160; the indigenous races of Sarawak in Clause (6)(a) of Article 161A; and the removal of Clause 7 of Article 161A.
Under the amendments, the native status of people in Sarawak and Sabah will no longer be decided by the federal government but instead by the Sarawak government and Sabah government through their own constitutions.
Prior to this, there had been calls for other ethnic groups such as Lakiput, Saban, Berawan and other minority groups to be inserted into the Schedule.
Sarawakians born of mixed marriages between natives and non-natives have also called to be recognised as natives.
The Interpretation (Amendment) Bill 2022 will be tabled by Assistant Minister in the Chief Minister’s Department (Law, MA63 and State-Federal Relations) Datuk Sharifah Hasidah Sayeed Aman Ghazali on Tuesday.
Its second and third readings will be done on the same day.
The Bill is one of the five bills to be tabled at the Special DUN Sitting which starts tomorrow (February 14). — Borneo Post