Jakoa defends decision to control access to Orang Asli villages

 

The Orang Asli Development Department (Jakoa) has defended its instruction for Orang Asli to seek written permission before accepting visitors to their villages.

In a statement, Jakoa said the requirement aimed at providing a good governance mechanism, ensuring any activity at the villages adheres to the principles of "free, prior and informed consent," which includes mandatory consent from their respective tok batin or penghulu (village chiefs).

The agency cited three reasons for this procedure: ensuring accountability and risk management through official monitoring to safeguard the community's and visitors' safety; protecting the health ecosystem and immunity of the rural community from infectious disease; and preventing the theft of forest produce.

Jakoa said the move is also to ensure data integrity, where they can protect the Orang Asli from exploitation of information and manipulation of their culture for the interest of other parties.

ADS

"The allegation that Jakoa is restricting access of outsiders to Orang Asli villages without any basis is not true.

"Official records also show the majority of applications were approved by Jakoa. In 2025, 395 out of 415 applications were approved, and only 20 were rejected because they lacked the consent of the tok batin or penghulu.

"For 2026, a total of 255 of 259 applications have been approved so far, involving 183 corporate social responsibility (CSR) programmes and 72 academic visits," it said.

According to Jakoa, in certain circumstances, applications may not be considered if there are factors that could potentially affect the well-being of the community, including elements of content exploitation, the spread of inappropriate ideologies, or actions that could disrupt the harmony of local customary leadership institutions.

"Jakoa believes that the development and well-being of the Orang Asli community can be more effectively achieved through professional cooperation, mutual respect, and compliance with existing procedures, in line with the legal provisions under the Orang Asli Act."

Restriction courts flak

Jakoa's statement came after lawyer and activist Siti Kasim accused the government of trying to control the Orang Asli’s access to information by restricting who can enter their villages in Peninsular Malaysia.

Siti Kasim

She slammed Jakoa for instructing the community not to accept visitors without permission from the agency.

Siti also shared an incident last week where she and a group of Orang Asli activists were stopped from entering a village in Lipis, Pahang by the state Forestry Department, supposedly for lacking a permit to enter a forest reserve.

While she believed the action was intended to prevent lawyers and activists from speaking to the Orang Asli community, Pahang Forestry Department director Zainuddin Jamaluddin denied the notion, claiming his officers were only enforcing the law.

Respect community's rights

The incident also attracted criticism from the Peninsular Malaysia Orang Asli Villages Network, or JKOASM, and a coalition of civil society organisations.

In a statement on Tuesday, the groups said such a restriction was an insult to the Orang Asli community and their leaders and urged authorities to respect the community's rights.

"It has to be stressed that the tok batin and village leaders hold the absolute right to make decisions, host meetings, programmes and manage the affairs within their customary area.

"They do not have to seek the permission or approval from the Forestry Department, Jakoa or even police for their community's internal affairs," it said. - FMT