KUCHING, May 23 — Ba’Kelalan State Assemblyman Baru Bian today told Sarawak’s Minister in the Premier’s Department (Native Laws and Customs) Datuk John Sikie Tayai that there is nothing complicated about the Interpretation (Amendment) Bill 2022 that seeks to confer the native status including on children of mixed marriages.

He said the minister in reply to his question about the long delay in gazetting the definition of "native” had said in the state assembly yesterday that the gazettement of the amendment was still not done because the government was still looking into it.

"The minister had said this is a ‘complicated’ matter and that the government wants to ensure that the special position and rights of natives are being protected.

"With respect, I don’t see any complication about the amendment. In fact, it is very simple and straightforward,” he said in a statement.

Baru, who is also a practising lawyer, said the Interpretation (Amendment) Ordinance 2022 states that a "native” includes a person who is a citizen and a natural-born child of a person of a race indigenous to Sarawak.

He said the recognition of the native status must satisfy the conditions and requirements imposed by the state Cabinet.

"In my view, there is only a procedural issue, that is, how an applicant can obtain a confirmation of his or her status as a native,” he added.

He said this could be done by furnishing certain documents such as birth certificates and identity cards.

"It should be made as easy as possible for genuine applicants to obtain recognition, instead of having complicated requirements that act as obstacles for them. We must not forget that the children of mixed marriages are natives of Sarawak whose rights we are here to preserve and safeguard.

"Therefore, the long delay in gazetting the amendment is a disappointment for all Sarawakians of mixed marriages, and is proving to be detrimental to many,” he said.

He hoped that the minister would take this on as his personal goal to have the amendment gazetted before the next sitting of the state assembly.

Baru noted that it has been over a year since the amendment Bill was passed, adding that there is no sign of it being gazetted, despite Deputy Minister in the Premier’s Department (Law, MA63 and State-Federal Relations) Datuk Sharifah Hasidah Aman Sayeed Aman Ghazali saying that the gazettement would be implemented by the state government through the State Secretary, "within two weeks” after it was passed.