The US State Department’s Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2016 said although the constitution provides the same civil and political rights for indigenous and non-indigenous people, the government had not effectively protected these rights.
According to the report, released by the State Department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labour, the Orang Asli had very little ability to participate in decisions that affected them.
It said a constitutional provision for “the special position of the Malays and natives of any of the states of Sabah and Sarawak” did not refer specifically to the Orang Asli. This led to ambiguity over the Orang Asli’s status in the constitution, it said.
According to the report, the Orang Asli number approximately 180,000 or 0.86% of the population and are the poorest group in the country.
It added that they do not own the land they live on but are permitted by the government to live on designated land as “at-will tenants, typically without documentation”.
The Orang Asli consider this land theirs under native customary rights, the report said, but the government can seize it if it provides compensation.
The report also cited confrontations between the Orang Asli and logging companies over land disputes, adding that uncertainty over their land tenure made the Orang Asli vulnerable to exploitation.
When the Orang Asli in Sabah and Sarawak protested encroachment by state and private logging and plantation companies, it said, they were put at a disadvantage by laws allowing the purchase of land with token notifications in newspapers to which they might not have access.
The report also noted reports of Orang Asli harassment by logging companies.
It added that the Sarawak government’s plan to build 12 hydroelectric dams threatened to displace tens of thousands of natives.