Johor Orang Asli NGO leader says no to 'sultanate land' conversion

 

A Johor Orang Asli NGO leader has spoken out against a call by the state monarch to convert the community's land reserves into "sultanate land".

Johor Network of Orang Asli Villages (JPOAJ) chairperson Dolah Tekoi (above) said the community's land reserves are already protected under the Aboriginal Peoples Act and the National Land Code.

"Reserves (under these two laws) are done not only in Johor but for Orang Asli reserves nationwide.

"As such, there is no need for Orang Asli reserves to be converted under the (Johor) Sultanate Land Enactment as the (current) reserve (mechanisms) are in line with the Federal Constitution which covers all states, and everyone is comfortable with this mechanism," he said in a statement today.

The statement comes almost three weeks after Johor ruler Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar called for the Orang Asli land conversion.

Sultan Ibrahim had argued that placing Orang Asli areas and reserves under sultanate land would safeguard them from being misused.

Orang Asli areas and reserves are both protected under the Aboriginal Peoples Act, 1954 - which, among others, states that such land cannot be alienated or disposed of except to Orang Asli who live on such land.

The governments of each state, however, are empowered to revoke such land status.

Meanwhile, under Section 2 of Johor's Sultanate Lands Enactment, anything classified as sultanate land belongs to the state monarch and is not considered state property.

The enactment also provides that no part of the sultanate land can be sold, leased, or disposed of except with the sultan's written permission.

There is no provision under the enactment against development being carried out on sultanate land, which has led to some controversy in the past.

Johor ruler Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar

During his decree on March 16, Sultan Ibrahim claimed there were cases where Orang Asli had turned state forest reserves into large-scale oil palm and rubber plantations.

The monarch also alleged that there might be outsiders manipulating the Orang Asli to take advantage of their rights, such as making unreasonable kawasan rayau (roaming area) claims.

Investigate the allegations

Responding to this, Dolah said authorities should investigate if it is true that some Orang Asli were exploited into clearing large swathes of forest, and that action should be taken as traditional lands should be used equitably among all residents.

However, he said it was not true to claim that all Orang Asli who opened plantations (berkebun) in forests were being exploited.

"It is not true because we are a people who live with the land or farm (on the land) since long ago, thus the desire to open plantations is not because of outside influence but because of self-awareness.

"These forests are our traditional areas because it has been used by generations as a place to gather important resources such as traditional medicines, food, to hunt, find forest produce, and a place for religious rituals and so on," he said.

Dolah also argued that "development" should not be used as a reason against the Orang Asli opening plantations.

"If there are only surau, roads, and internet connectivity, are the Orang Asli considered rich to the point there is no need to open plantations to sustain themselves?

"If we sit quietly and do nothing, surely the Orang Asli would be considered lazy people," he said.

Dolah added that many villages still lacked necessities such as clean water supply, electricity, and roads.

Examples, he said, were Kampung Sedohok, which still uses water well, and Kampung Pucur which uses generators that the villagers had to fuel at their own expense.

He said tubewell projects in several villages had also failed and that alternatives were needed to provide clean water.

Dolah added that a government programme to get Orang Asli to plant commercial crops also failed as the payout of under RM500 per month to each participant was not enough to bring the Orang Asli out of poverty. - Mkini