Perak MB defends state authorities over Orang Asli land dispute

Perak Menteri Besar Saarani Mohamad has defended the state authorities against claims of failures to protect Orang Asli ancestral land in Bidor.

According to FMT, Saarani said he was informed that quarry company Siong Emas Sdn Bhd did not encroach on a plot of Orang Asli ancestral land in Kampung Chang Lama, Bidor.

Saarani reportedly said he had consulted the Perak Land and Mines office and the Orang Asli Development Department (Jakoa) regarding the matter.

“Both state and federal agencies informed me that there is no truth to the claims,” he said.

On April 11, village Tok Batin Dahil Yok Chopil said the villagers found signboards along the Jegog area with the name of the company and a warning that trespassers will be prosecuted.

He said the action clearly violates the principles of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which requires the free, prior, and informed consent of the indigenous community, which was not obtained.

Dahil also said the community has endured repeated instances of land dispossession for commercial projects that provided Orang Asli with no benefits, and instead have been detrimental, eliminating their rights to their ancestral land and customary territory, while they continue to live below the poverty line.

Firm insists has approval

Responding to the villagers, Siong Emas managing director Tan Ee Tiam countered that it was the Orang Asli who had "encroached" on the land, as the company holds the land title for a 2.832ha plot called Lot 16225 in Batang Padang.

The company was first granted a 30-year lease for the site on Feb 14, 2007, which expired on May 26, 2022, and has since been extended for another 44 years.

Yesterday, environmental group Pertubuhan Pelindung Khazanah Alam Malaysia (Peka) questioned how the company was granted a lease on the Orang Asli ancestral land. - Mkini