Give Kelantan Orang Asli their rights

The Orang Asli are entitled to their way of life.

COMMENT

The Kelantan state government appears reluctant to recognise native customary land belonging to the Orang Asli. Instead, private companies have been given permission to encroach on ancestral lands under the pretext of earning revenue for the state.

Men who claimed to represent companies acting on behalf of the state used force to break down blockades set up by the Temiars, who only wanted to protect their forests, families, homes and land.

The state government should be working to protect these ancestral lands. Instead, it is working hand in hand with these companies to discriminate against the Orang Asli and deny them their rights.

PAS’ Kota Bharu MP Takiyuddin Hassan recently alleged that the Gua Musang Orang Asli were fighting over land that rightfully belonged to the state government.

He claimed that the Orang Asli were colluding with several NGOs in setting up blockades to stop timber activities despite the companies having legitimate logging permits issued by the Forestry Department.

According to Takiyuddin, ancestral lands do not exist in Kelantan as the state only recognises “kawasan rayau”.

“In Kelantan, there is no ancestral land for the Orang Asli,” he said. “There has never been (a provision) in Kelantan’s land laws, and it has never been gazetted.”

He also claimed that in the “kawasan rayau”, the Orang Asli could farm, rear animals and grow crops. He denied that companies had been issued logging permits in these areas.

Given the state’s hostile reaction, some 200 Gua Musang Orang Asli from the Temiar community visited Putrajaya to meet with Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad and urge the federal government to ban loggers and plantation firms from trespassing.

Why is it so difficult for PAS to accept that the Orang Asli are entitled to their way of life? Although the land is situated in Kelantan, it does not belong to PAS. It belongs to the people. Why is PAS insensitive to the issues connected to the Orang Asli’s ancestral land?

Last January, after a Magistrate’s Court barred loggers from encroaching on the land surrounding Pos Balar, activists claimed that the court order merely resulted in the transfer of logging activities to other areas in Gua Musang.

On Aug 4, meanwhile, a durian plantation company was alleged to have wrecked a blockade put up by the Temian community.

Batu Kawan MP Kasthuri Patto has urged the state government to protect, uphold, promote and recognise the rights of the Orang Asli. She voiced her concerns after learning about the destruction of the blockades, blaming the neglect, abuse and lack of commitment by the former administration towards recognising Orang Asli land.

Kelantan is not the only state where Orang Asli rights have been trampled on. Other states are reportedly treating their Orang Asli shabbily and denying them their rights as well.

When will the state governments respect the rights of the Orang Asli, their way of life, their traditions, their customs and their right to live as they wish?

Mariam Mokhtar is an FMT columnist.

✍ Sumber Pautan : ☕ Malaysians Must Know the TRUTH

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