• The lack of jurisdiction of Native Courts in respect of any cause or matter within the jurisdiction of the Civil or Syari’ah Courts; 55 • Lack of staff in the Native Courts. Native Courts staff are normally seconded from district offices, which may at times lead to conflict of interest, in particular cases against the government or its officials; • The involvement of political powers in the appointment of District Chief, Native Chief and village chiefs who are key Native Courts personnel; 56 and • Lack of financial resources to ensure effective operation of the courts; • Awareness and practice of customs and adat by current younger leaders as the future preservation and adherence of customs heavily depends on their actual practice. 57 Despite the above challenges, the Native Court in Malaysia is an important institution as it empowers the natives in Sabah and Sarawak to realise their right to maintain their juridical system. At the same time, these institutions are able to preserve the adherence to the Adat amongst the natives. The Native Court is also a cheaper alternative for those who wish to bring their matter to court, in comparison to the Civil and Syari’ah Courts. 58 (iv) Preservation of the Orang Asal’s Cultural Heritage The IP have the right to pursue, maintain and strengthen their cultural institutions as part of their right to self-determination. 59Correspondingly, international human rights Native Court Enactment (n. 51), Section 9 Ramy Bulan, ‘Indigenous Peoples and the Right to Participate in Decision Making in Malaysia’ in International Expert Seminar on Indigenous Peoples and The Right to Participate in Decision Making, Chiang Mai, Thailand, January 2010, 9 20-22 <http://www2.ohchr.org/english/issues/indigenous/ExpertMechanism/3rd/docs/contributions/UniversityMal aya.doc>accessed 16 September 2014; Native Court Rules 1993; Native Courts Ordinance, 1992 (n 51); Native Court Enactment (n. 51). The personnel at the lower courts preserved the traditional dispute resolution structure administered by the traditional leadership consisting (a) in Sarawak, the headman, the Penghulu, Pemancha and Temenggong (Sarawak) and (b) in Sabah, the headman and Orang Kaya-Kaya. The adjudicators in higher (appellate) courts are drawn from the government administrators, the District Officer, the Resident (Sarawak) and a High Court judge may sit in the Native Court of Appeal. 57 RamyBulan (n 56) 10 58 Nancy Lai, ‘Upko fully backs proposed Native Judicial Dept’ Borneo Post Online (Penampang, 12 July 2010) <http://www.theborneopost.com/2010/07/12/upko-fully-backs-proposed-native-judicial-dept/> accessed 29 October 2014 59 UN General Assembly, Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) (adopted 10 December 1948) 217 A (III), Article 22, 27; UN General Assembly, International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) (adopted 16 December 1966) United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 993, Preamble, Article 1; UNDRIP (n. 47), Preamble, Article 5, 15(1), 31(1) 55 56 17