Orang Asli activists scoff at candidate’s new jetty pledge

 

Orang Asli during a peaceful protest over land rights in Johor Bahru in May. (Voice Facebook pic)

PETALING JAYA: Two activists have ridiculed a Pulai by-election candidate’s pledge to build a new jetty to serve Orang Asli communities if he wins at the polls on Saturday.

Center for Orang Asli Concerns (COAC) coordinator Colin Nicholas said the promise made by Pakatan Harapan’s Suhaizan Kaiat did not correspond with the needs of the Orang Asli communities.

“Making such a statement in such a period clearly shows selective goodwill. This may have worked if he was here 50 years ago during the country’s first or second election, but now we have seen so many promises thrown by the wayside.

“Obviously, this is just an election promise, not a commitment by the government to do it. This not only reflects the candidate’s desperation to seek votes, but his ignorance of issues on the ground,” he told FMT.

Suhaizan had said the new jetty would benefit the Orang Asli in Kampung Sungai Temon and Kampung Bakar Batu, but Nicholas said the community in the latter village will be moving to a new settlement in Ulu Tiram soon.

He said they were involved in a court case as the state government did not recognise Kampung Bakar Batu as their customary land. Having gone to court, the villagers asked for an alternative place to reside, and agreed to resettle in Ulu Tiram.

Nicholas accused the government of failing to fulfil its fiduciary duty of gazetting the land as an Orang Asli settlement, adding that the date of their resettlement remains unknown.

“So what’s the point? It makes no sense to only provide a jetty now. There are many other Orang Asli who require land rights and jetties. Why not grant them that, too?

“If you are truly genuine about improving their livelihood and protecting their rights, the bigger issues are gazetting their ancestral land as Orang Asli settlements or improving transport facilities, but there is no political expediency.

“The bigger issue is the rights of the Orang Asli in Johor,” he said.

Meanwhile, activist Amani Williams-Hunt Abdullah, better known as Bah Tony, said Suhaizan’s promise was yet another election gimmick targeted at the Orang Asli.

He said that according to the Federal Constitution, the community’s issues fall under the purview of the federal government. Putrajaya or the Johor government can provide infrastructure like jetties anytime, especially since both are politically aligned, he said.

“It is their fiduciary duty to assist the Orang Asli. They don’t have to wait for an election.

“Orang Asli communities, like other communities, have the right to be provided common basic facilities,” he said. - FMT