When Jakun tribe member Zul Mamad left his village near Pekan, Pahang, on the morning of May 4, there was little to suggest that the day would end differently from any other.
However, when he returned, his house and that of six others from the Orang Asli tribe were turned into a pile of rubble - demolished by a company that had razed their homes to the ground for a plantation project.
“Six houses and one ‘rumah adat’ were destroyed in the blink of an eye… When we returned, all that remained was devastation and loss,” said Zul, who is also the spokesperson for Kampung Sungai Baru.
Zul related his ordeal today during a protest held outside the Rural and Regional Development Ministry’s premises in Putrajaya, which oversees the community’s affairs.
Attended by about 2,000 people, among others, they demanded greater recognition of their claims to their ancestral lands, termed as Orang Asli customary land.
Another demand was for the Orang Asli ancestral land to be gazetted according to common law principles rather than the Aboriginal Peoples Act 1954.
Protesters arrived wearing traditional headgear and regalia, while others carried placards bearing slogans such as “Hentikan Rampasan Tanah Adat” (stop the seizure of customary land) and “Orang Asli Bukan Pendatang di Tanah Sendiri” (Orang Asli are not migrants on their own land).
Later, activists and lawyers handed over a memorandum to an officer representing Rural and Regional Development Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
Long-running problem
Zul and his tribe’s experience was an example of how the Orang Asli community’s claims to their ancestral lands, which include dwellings and foraging grounds, continue to be ignored by the government.
“We are not rejecting the law. What we question is where the due process was? Where was our voice in the decision that led to our homes getting destroyed?” Zul asked.
He insisted that in his village’s case, the community was neither given proper notice before the demolition nor afforded a fair opportunity to discuss the matter, leaving 20 villagers homeless.
At the protest, an activist also stressed that Zul’s experience is common among Orang Asli tribes and that the loss of villages and ancestral lands is dooming their traditional way of life.
“For a long time, there has been encroachment and the seizure of customary land. We are losing our land, rivers, forests, and water,” said Jaringan Kampung Orang Asli Semenanjung Malaysia leader Nur Syafiq Dendi Abdullah.
“Our identity and culture are gradually disappearing because of logging, development, and encroachment.”
Syafiq, who also chairs the Pos Simpor Customary Land Action Committee in Gua Musang, Kelantan, urged the government to hold an open and transparent consultation with Orang Asli communities and take immediate steps to address their concerns.
‘Sack Jakoa DG’
Lawyer Rajesh Nagarajan, who was part of the protest, called for the removal of the Orang Asli Development Department (Jakoa) director-general for failing to safeguard the community’s interests.
“Although it is called Jakoa, it does not protect the welfare of Orang Asli communities.
“Instead, Jakoa has become one of the agencies that oppresses the Orang Asli. When Orang Asli seek assistance, Jakoa does not help them. Rather, it tends to side with developers and state governments,” he claimed.
On calls for Orang Asli land to be protected under common law principles, lawyer Sachpreetraj Singh said such recognition would provide stronger and permanent protection for indigenous communities.
“(This form of recognition) is stronger, as it is grounded in court decisions and cannot be arbitrarily revoked,” he said.
Sachpreetraj also said activists expect the government to meet their demands and call for an urgent consultation between the government and Orang Asli representatives.
“If no action is taken by the government, we will organise another demonstration - bigger and stronger,” he added. - Mkini
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