KOTA KINABALU: Justice on wheels or mobile legal aid services, are now available in Sabah.
This service started in Penampang district and is expected to be expanded to Pitas in February, Telupid in May, Paitan in June, Sukau in September and Tungku in October, said Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reforms) Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said.
She stressed the importance of making legal services available to all, ensuring that individuals in rural communities understand and exercise their rights.
The newly launched programme aims to raise awareness, provide information and offer affordable legal aid to prevent individuals from being taken advantage of due to a lack of legal knowledge.
Azalina said there is no use for the Federal Government to come up with policies and laws if not everyone gets to enjoy its benefits just because they are not aware of the law.
She said those who are not familiar with their legal rights may become victims of circumstances and have others abuse their rights.
“For example in scam cases, what do you do and where do you go from there if you fall prey to such scams?” she asked.
She said workers too need to know their rights, or else they might be taken advantage of and so justice on wheels plays a part in creating awareness and disseminating information apart from providing cheap legal aid.
“That is why justice on wheels is launched and it is only right if justice on wheels complements the existing mobile court services in Sabah,” she said, adding that this is for households earning a certain monthly income and they just need to pay RM10 for each consultation.
She said the issue in Sabah is infrastructure and amenities, whereby it is difficult for many rural folk to travel just to seek legal advice or assistance.
Mobile courts themselves also have their own barriers reaching folk on the ground due to geographical factors such as distance, challenges on road conditions that require the use of four-wheel drive vehicles and so on, she said.
Azalina added that there is also a need to evaluate the system applied in mobile courts and take into account technological advances when handling cases via mobile courts.
