Baru BIan. – File photo
KUCHING (May 27): A change in state policy for the purchase of shotgun cartridges has inconvenienced rural communities in Lawas that still depend on hunting for sustenance, said Ba’Kelalan assemblyman Baru Bian.
He said in a statement that State Administrative Officers (SAO) had been empowered to sign Form 11, which is the licence to buy cartridges, but this was now no longer the case.
“Apparently, there was a delegation of power made by the Chief Minister to the State Secretary, Resident and District Officer (DO) to sign Form 11. Formerly, there was a sub-delegation of the same power by the DO to SAO to do the same but the State Attorney General was of the opinion that the said sub-delegation was not proper and hence the SAO could no longer sign Form 11,” he said.
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Baru said the change had caused a lot of inconvenience for the rural folk who have to travel to the nearest District Office to make applications but oftentimes, the DO would be unavailable as he would be attending to duties elsewhere.
“As a result the applicants are asked to wait for the DO to be present, and often the officers are not certain when that would be. Sometimes the applicants are told it could be a few days or perhaps one or two weeks.
“This is an additional financial burden on the licensees as they have to pay for accommodation in the town while waiting, or they have to make another trip. Added to this are the travel difficulties with the current restrictions and the risk of exposure during this time of the Covid-19 pandemic,” he said.
Baru pointed out that to the rural people, their shotguns were essential as they still hunted for food and not for recreation.
He said therefore that the cartridges were necessary and sellers were not permitted to sell cartridges to those without the approved Form 11.
“I had written to the Chief Minister to request that he issue a fresh delegation of power immediately to include the SAOs so that the rural folks will not have to face the problem of having to go multiple times to get their licences.
“I hope the Chief Minister will understand the hardship of the rural community and execute a fresh delegation of power without delay,” said Baru.