The courts in the State make judicial history when it spearheaded the move of going high-tech with the launch and implementation of its pioneering video teleconferencing, short messaging system (SMS) and file tracking system to reduce back-logged cases. This launch marks Malaysia’s first-ever deployment of virtual court hearing system and a more efficient court case management system.

The Chief Justice Of The Federal Court, Malaysia, the Right Honourable Tun Dato' Sri Ahmad Fairuz bin Dato' Sheikh Abdul Halim is on hand to launch the system at Kompleks Mahkamah Kuching, Petra Jaya, Kuching. Accompanying him is the Chief Judge of the High Court in Sabah and Sarawak, the Right Honourable Dato' Richard Malanjum.

The development and implementation of ECM-FTS are made possible with the collaboration of the High Court of Sabah and Sarawak, the Sarawak State Government, and Sarawak Information Systems Sdn Bhd (SAINS).

The ECM-FTS is developed by SAINS and is currently implemented at the Kuching High Court, making Sarawak the pilot site. The launch also initiates a move that could see the system being replicated at other States in the country in the near future. Meanwhile, the MCS for virtual court hearing is currently installed at the Kuching High Court and the Miri High Court, with other divisions such as Sibu and Bintulu joining in at a later stage.

With the implementation of ECM-FTS, court case management is anticipated to improve greatly with enhanced communication between court administrators, advocates and judges. Built with web-based capabilities, the system allows the public to view and keep track of court case hearings as scheduled.

The ECM-FTS is also expected to revolutionise court administration from tedious everyday manual tasks to fast and more efficient electronic tasks. The ECM-FTS also adopts the short messaging system (SMS) technology to notify and remind advocates with regards to their cases.

During the launching, the Chief Justice of the Federal Court had a live video-conferencing with the Magistrates at the Courts of Miri, Sibu and Bintulu.

Apparently happy with the system, the Chief Justice of the Federal Court said, "I will put forward this idea to the Federal Government and I believe it will be considered seriously as more users of the technology will mean lower cost."