KUCHING: The Sarawak Government provides full support for the empowerment of the National Language as the official language in the Syariah legal system in line with efforts to elevate the Malay language as the language of knowledge and nationhood.

The commitment was reaffirmed by Sarawak Deputy Premier, Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan during the Symposium on Empowering the National Language as the Language of the Syariah Courts at the Balai Budaya, Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (DBP), on Thursday.

According to him, in a sovereign country, the national language is the basis that serves as a vehicle for administration, including in the field of law which is the basis of the justice system.

“The Malay language has long played a role as a language that can express various fields of knowledge, including law, since ancient times to the modern era,” he said in the text of speech read by the Deputy Minister in the Sarawak Premier’s Department (Law, MA63 and State-Federal Relations), Datuk Sharifah Hasidah Sayeed Aman Ghazali at the symposium on Thursday.

Datuk Amar Awang Tengah stressed that the empowerment of the Malay language in the justice system is not only relevant in the Syariah courts, but should also be extended to the civil courts.

“I suggest that a similar symposium be held to strengthen the use of the national language in civil courts,” he said.

This symposium, he said, is an important platform to bring together legal figures, academics and students to instill a love for the Malay language and strengthen the spirit of pride of language among legal practitioners.

He also stressed that legal knowledge should not be exclusive to its practitioners alone.

“We want to democratise the law by making the national language the main medium in order for the people to understand issues related to justice more easily,” he explained.

He also said that the Sarawak Government, through several related agencies including the Sarawak Attorney General’s Chambers, Sarawak Syariah Judicial Department, Sarawak Mufti Department, Sarawak Legal Aid Department and DBP, is strengthening cooperation to publish more legal reference books, terminology materials and standard legal language reference documents.

In the meantime, Datuk Sharifah Hasidah also stressed that the Sarawak Government is always committed to supporting initiatives to uphold the national language in all fields, including Syariah law.

"The national language must be protected and elevated to the highest position even though we recognise the importance of the English language," she said. -UKASnews

Reporter : Maryam Zanariah Ibrahim
Translator: Nerissa Sia
Photographer : Ibanez