Hypocritical to prevent Orang Asli from selling forest produce, says activist

 

Orang Asli communities have been involved in trading forest resources for years, say two activists.

PETALING JAYA: An Orang Asli activist says it is hypocritical for deputy energy and natural resources minister Ali Biju to say that Orang Asli who live in forest reserves are not allowed to harvest forest produce for commercial purposes.

Amani Williams-Hunt Abdullah, who is better known as Bah Tony, said it is a “mockery” that logging companies are able to carry out logging in forest reserves, but Orang Asli communities are prevented from gathering resources to survive.

Stressing that such regulations only serve to “constrict and strangle” Orang Asli communities, the lawyer was adamant that the Orang Asli should have the right to harvest forest produce for commercial purposes as they have been doing so with minimal impact to the land for “thousands of years”.

“The government doesn’t recognise their rights to the land, restricts them from gathering resources to survive, and doesn’t allow them to open up the area for economic activities,” he said.

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“How are they going to survive, unless the government airdrops food for them?

“They have been living there for generations, thousands of years. They have been there before forest reserves were even created. They are not destroying forests, unlike the loggers.”

Replying to a question from Apandi Mohamad in the Dewan Negara when tabling an amendment bill for the National Forestry Act 1984 yesterday, Ali said there were 850 Orang Asli villages across the country, with a majority of them located in forest reserves.

He said that while the communities were allowed to harvest products from the forest reserves, it must only be for domestic use.

Colin Nicholas, coordinator for the Center for Orang Asli Concerns (COAC), said Orang Asli communities had been involved in trading forest resources for at least 500 years, with their sustainable use of such resources ensuring forests stay intact and healthy.

He agreed that Ali’s statement was hypocritical as logging was allowed in forest reserves, adding that he was shocked that the Saratok MP would advocate such an issue.

“He is an Orang Asal. Surely he would not dare to do this for his people in Sarawak,” said Nicholas, who founded COAC in 1989.

“You say they cannot sell (forest produce from forest reserves), but you allow logging to go on. This is a clear manifestation of non-recognition of Orang Asli’s rights in their customary lands. Just because some Orang Asli who live in the forest and its fringes use its resources doesn’t mean the forest reserves will be degraded.

“If you look at a map of where Orang Asli villages are and plot it against forest areas in Peninsular Malaysia, you will find a high correlation between forested areas and areas where many Orang Asli are still living.

“That shows that they have protected and served as guardians of the forests all this while. It’s not about non-use of forest resources, it’s about wise use of forest resources.”

Nicholas said the forest produce that Orang Asli communities harvested for sale included rattan, bamboo, resin and fish.

He also noted that nearly half of the country’s Orang Asli population, or roughly 100,000, live in forests and their fringes, with 5% to 8% of them depending on forest produce for income.

Alberto Gomes, an anthropology professor at La Trobe University in Melbourne, agreed with Nicholas’ statement that the Orang Asli had been using forests in a sustainable manner for centuries.

“The Orang Asli have planted produce such as petai and yam in forest areas which authorities have subsequently come and demarcated, without their consultation, as forest reserves,” he said.

“This has been their customary land, but this has not been recognised,” added Gomes, who has been researching the country’s Orang Asli communities for more than 40 years. - FMT