KOTA KINABALU: The amendment to the Parks Enactment 1984 will now allow park officers to carry firearms.
The proposed Clause 12 introduced a new Section 49A, which authorises park officers, with the director's approval, to carry and use firearms within parks or nature reserves.
"It is subject to administrative directions from the director," she said, after tabling the Parks (Amendment) Enactment 2024.
The bill includes 15 clauses, with the firearms provision being one of six new sections.
Liew also said that the bill aimed to establish a management plan for parks and nature reserves, granted powers of investigation, and clarify objectives for their creation.
"The enactment was last amended in 2007, nearly 17 years ago. Therefore, updates are necessary to meet current needs for managing parks and reserves.
"These amendments aim to enhance and standardise existing provisions while introducing new ones to strengthen the management of Sabah's parks and nature reserves," she added.
"All parks and nature reserves established in Sabah are subject to the Parks Enactment 1984, and my ministry, through the Sabah Parks Board of Trustees, has been entrusted with enforcing this enactment," she said.