Malanjum (third right) holding on Thomson Reuters book which was also launched during the conference, yesterday.
KOTA KINABALU: The government is urged to audit its current law to synchronize with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (Undrip).
Chief Justice Tan Sri Richard Malanjum said a proper audit had never been done and it should be carried out.
“There is stated in the UN declaration that the rights of indigenous people should be protected. Therefore, now we have to see, audit (the law) whether it is in accordance with the UN declaration.
“For now, it is yet to be audited, so now we have to look at it again whether it is in accordance with or contradicts the UN declaration and adjust it,¨ he said.
He spoke to reporters yesterday after launching Borneo Rainforest Law Conference 2019, which took place at the Pacific Sutera Hotel here.
The conference was organized by Sabah Law Society together with The Council of Justices of the Peace Sabah (Majaps) and Pusat Sumber Adat dan Mediasi Kaum Anak Negeri Sabah (Pusaka), where 325 participants showed up from all over Sabah and abroad.
Malanjum expressed hope that through the conference, a proposal could be developed and handed to the government regarding reassessment of the native people status and the law.
Apart from that, he suggested and encouraged the word ‘indigenous’ to be used instead of ‘native’ so that the public would also change their mindset over ‘native’ people.
The word ‘native’ has a negative connotation, explained Malanjum, adding that one would have imagined an outdated person who wore a loincloth or a headhunter.
When asked regarding his opening speech which touched on the indigenous or native people losing in court, Malanjum said the court system was a bit adversarial, where one party would be the loser while the other party would be the winner.
“(The system now is) a bit of adversarial. Winner and loser, we want to avoid that as much as possible. We want a situation whereby they can be reconciled, both winners, win-win. Mediation is the proses. We want to encourage that,” he said.
Malanjum also encouraged for more legal practitioners in the state to pursue their studies in native cases and suggested for a law school to be set up at Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) which could put emphasis on indigenous law.
Meanwhile, Assistant Law and Natives Affairs Minister Jannie Lasimbang who was asked to comment on the changing of ‘native’ to ‘indigenous’ said it might not change the people.
“I think a lot is related to perception. Personally, natives themselves and the term native is something we already get used to.
“This is about how the whole society in Malaysia, in Sabah, how native people have been marginalized. This is about thinking, perception and not about terms,” she said.
Additionally, Jannie said Sabah had already implemented the Undrip declaration in its law through workshops and recognition of the international day of the world’s indigenous peoples.
“We started implementing the training so that people understand the access to justice, which is the native court, basically,” she said, and added, the government also.