Nancy eyes law reforms
PUTRAJAYA (June 17, 2013): Introducing law reforms, especially those related to women and children are among the top priorities for new Law Minister Nancy Shukri.
Nancy, who is also the Member of Parliament for Batang Sadong in Sarawak, said issues related to women and children have always been close to her heart as she has always been active in non-governmental organisation (NGO) work before entering politics in 2008.
She was the chairman for the Sarawak Federation of Women’s Institute twice.
Nancy said she is eager to look into the proposals by NGOs to know what they want for the betterment of the community.
“But of course I can’t do it alone. I need to look at the proposals from NGOs and I have asked the relevant departments on the ways of doing it.
“I was told research must be done before any changes are made,” said Nancy in an interview.
Despite not specifying the laws she wants to look into, she said law reforms must be done with caution as there are many implications that need to be looked into – both long and short term.
“One group may feel that some laws or regulations are not suitable but that need not necessarily be the same for another group.
“I suppose this is where the credibility of Barisan Nasional has to be highlighted. When people criticise us, we remain cool because we cannot simply make changes for the sake of it.
“We need to take all aspects into consideration before making changes,” said Nancy who holds a law degree from Hull University.
She also hoped that some archaic laws, such as the Sedition Act 1948 will be (replaced) soon, adding that the Attorney-General Chambers is looking into it.
“We hope to table it in the upcoming Parliament sitting (which begins on June 24).”
Apart from law reforms, the first time minister said she is looking into ways of spreading more awareness to the people about law and rights.
“I used to work in the Legal Affairs Department at the Kuching North Municipal Council (before entering politics) and I often used to think of ways on how you can make it interesting,” said the mother of three.
Nancy said she is also keen and open to work with groups such as MyConstitution, a campaign that spreads awareness on the Constitution but added that a proper mechanism needs to be worked out for such co-operation to take place.
Nancy, who took over from former de facto Law Minister Datuk Seri Nazri Abdul Aziz will take charge of 11 agencies, including the Public Land Transport Commission, the Prime Minister’s Department Advisory Board, the Legal Affairs Division, the Insolvency Department and the Judicial and Legal Services Commission.
