KUALA LUMPUR: The government will take all the actions necessary to address the shortage of court interpreters to ensure cases are no longer delayed, the Dewan Rakyat was told today.
Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Law and Institutional Reform) M. Kulasegaran said the issue of the lack of court interpreters has been going on for many years, even when he was still in the opposition.
"I, myself, am aware that many cases are delayed or cannot proceed because of the lack of interpreters.
"(However,) actions will be taken to fill all existing vacancies and provide more opportunities for interpreters to advance in their careers and improve their skills" he said during the winding-up for the Sexual Offences Against Children (Amendment) Bill in the Dewan Rakyat, today.
Kulasegaran said this in response to RSN Rayer (PH-Jelutong) who expressed concerns about the shortage of interpreters for specific languages, including Tamil, Mandarin, and indigenous languages, particularly when translating testimonies from children in abuse or sexual crime cases.
Rayer also noted the significance of having sufficient interpreters, especially in the rural areas of Sabah and Sarawak.
"When we take statements from children in court, interpreters play a crucial role, especially if the interpreter is someone who translates the child's statement for the court so that the court can understand and make a decision.
"If we do not have qualified interpreters who can translate the statement, we will not achieve our goal even if this law is amended," said Rayer.