PSM Orang Asli bureau chairman Suresh Kumar said the community’s rights, including those related to ancestral land, were protected under the Orang Asli Act 1954 (Act 134).
“The act clearly stipulates the rights of the Orang Asli, including what to do in the event of encroachment (into their land) or a dispute. If the federal and state governments adhered to it, it would be more than enough,” he told FMT today.
Sections 6, 7 and 8 of Act 13 clearly outline the state government’s responsibility, which is to declare Orang Asli settlements as Orang Asli reserves conditional upon their permanent residence there, among others.
Section 9 in the act also states that the Orang Asli cannot transfer ownership or lease their land without the approval of the authorities, while Section 10 states that the Orang Asli community do not have to leave their homes even if the land is declared Malay reserve land.
However Act 145 stipulates that state authorities can order the Orang Asli community to leave their settlements upon fulfilling several conditions, including the offering of compensation.
Yesterday, DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang urged the government to amend the Federal Constitution in order to allow the Orang Asli to enjoy the same benefits as the Malays and the Orang Asal of Sarawak. Lim listed the benefits as education, social services, scholarships, businesses and protection of their land.
While Suresh agreed with Lim, he said there were certain issues that needed more urgent attention, such as law enforcement and the education system.
“There are already schools in the Orang Asli settlements that teach the national education syllabus.
Meanwhile, Section 17 of Act 134 states that no one can stop the Orang Asli from seeking an education. He also said the students could not be forced into taking agama classes, unless their parents consented to it.
“However, among the recurring issues were the attitude of teachers, such as in the case of SK Pos Tohoi recently,” he said, referring to the incident in August last year, when seven students disappeared from their school. After 50 days, four were found dead and two alive but emaciated. One is still missing.
According to reports, the seven had run away from school as they were afraid of being punished for swimming in a nearby river without permission.
Recently, a group of Orang Asli in Gua Musang set up a blockade in order to stop logging on their land. Their protest took a nasty turn however when the authorities arrested 47 of them on Nov 29. They were released three days later.