KUCHING: The Federal Government is proposing to build four new courts in Sarawak under the 12th Malaysia Plan (12MP).

       Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Parliament and Law) Datuk Seri Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said the new courts would be located in Limbang, Sri Aman, Mukah and Kapit.

       He said the proposed projects are being evaluated by the Economic Planning Unit of the Prime Minister‘s Department.

       The new courts are necessary to accommodate the rising number of cases, he added.

       "(Apart from that) I also found many courts in Sarawak are housed in shared buildings with other government departments.

       "(There are also courts where) Judges have to enter via public areas. Judges should have private entrances,” he told reporters after a visit to the Kuching Court Complex here on Sunday (Jan 9).

       Apart from that, Wan Junaidi said the government is proposing to build an official residence for the Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak in Kuching.

       He also said that under the 12MP, the government had approved 14 projects to upgrade, refurbish and preserve court buildings in Sarawak with an allocation of RM9,212,700.

       He said the upgrading would involve the court complexes of Kuching, Bintulu and Miri, as well as the courts in Kota Samarahan, Sibu and Sarikei – Bernama