KUCHING (Sept 22): The proposed amendment to the definition of natives of Sarawak in the Federal Constitution should be looked into so that the ethnic groups in the State other than Malay, Chinese and Indians are no longer categorised as ‘others’.

Sarawak Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah said the proposed amendment was aimed to clearly reflect the racial and ethnic diversity in the country, especially in Sarawak.

“It will be significant because to some extent, this will serve as an acknowledgement to the numerous ethnic groups in Sarawak because until now they are considered as 'others',” he told reporters after attending the ‘Dialog Seni Perdana’ organised by the Sarawak Arts Council here today.

According to Abdul Karim, no one in this country would like to be considered as ‘others’, as usually found under the race category in official documents.

“By stating their races clearly, it will make these (native) people (who are usually categorised as ‘others’) feel respected,” he said.

Elaborating, Abdul Karim said the definition in the Federal Constitution needed to be amended and it as hoped that the Minister in charge at the Federal level will look into the proposed amendment, particularly on matters related to the rights of Sarawak.

Sarawak Assistant Minister of Law, State-Federal Relations and Project Monitoring Datuk Sharifah Hasidah Sayeed Aman Ghazali yesterday said that the State government had proposed for the definition of natives in the Federal Constitution to be updated to reflect the numerous races of the natives in the State.

Meanwhile, when appearing as a panellist at the art dialogue, Abdul Karim said a society that did not place emphasis on arts and culture would become an outdated society.

Therefore, he wanted the Sarawak Arts Culture to implement a restructuring exercise so that all types of arts including writing, theatre, painting, singing and dance of various ethnic groups in the state can be preserved.

“By doing so, all communities and ethnics in Sarawak can feel that they are not left behind and raise unity to a higher level so that future generations can maintain the traditions of their respective races,” he added.