KUCHING, Feb 23 — Dayak National Congress (DNC) civil society today asked the Pakatan Harapan (PH) federal government to appoint a respectable lawyer from Sarawak as a member of the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) to investigate claims of misconduct by some judges following a affidavit filed by Court of Appeal judge, Datuk Hamid Sultan Abu Backer.
Its president Paul Raja said the lawyer must be free from any possible link to the current regime.
“What we want is not someone who just make up the number but someone who has the credibility, respect, knowledge and experience in the judicial and legal fraternity in Sarawak and Sabah,” he said.
He said DNC is very concerned on the membership because any appointment may have great implication on the growth of justice and recognition of indigenous rights in Sarawak and Malaysia as a whole.
Raja, who is a prominent native customary rights (NCR) land lawyer, said DNC thanked the federal government for its fast and positive response in setting up a RCI at the request of the people and the many civil societies.
“It is timely and in order that the commission is being set up now that we have a new government,” he said, adding that what the people want after the 14th general election is a holistic approach to reformation in the government, institutions and government agencies.
He said RCI is an opportunity for the government to right all the wrongs that have been infesting the judiciary and led the people to lose confidence in it.
He said not only must RCI investigate the allegations singled out by Hamid in his affidavit, DNC also wants it to include the possible manipulation justice relating to NCR land cases in Sarawak High Courts, Court of Appeal and the Federal Court.
“We want the investigation to inquire whether judiciary had also assisted or in cahoot with anyone to assist the state government of Sarawak in their cases against the native land owners,” he said.
“While we have witnessed the slow growth and recognition of native land and human rights in the early 2000 beginning with the Nor Nyawai Case, that growth has been killed off by the
Federal Court in TR Sandah’s case.
“What we see here is the regressing of justice instead of progressing justice. Its implication is far reaching. After TR Sandah, followed by TR Nyutan and TR Massa, justice is now beyond reach to the entire community — Dayaks and Malays alike — who make up 70 per cent of the population of Sarawak.
“We also witnessed how the Court of Appeal and Federal Court treating NCR land cases with triviality or even putting impossible burden of proof on the native claimants,” Raja said.
