Spell out details of constitutional amendment on Orang Asli matters, say activists

PRIORITY should be given to the Orang Asli (OA) ancestral land rights when Putrajaya works on the proposed constitutional amendment to place their matters under the jurisdiction of both the federal and state governments, activists said.

They said it was crucial the federal government include pertinent details on the OA lands rights to not only protect them, but ensure that they have a better quality of life.

Centre for Orang Asli Concerns coordinator Colin Nicholas said if the government wants to protect OA rights, then it will have to come up with a clear statement on the amendments that are to be made.

“We would suggest the amendments include the rights that the OA are the indigenous people of the country and have rights to customary land and territories.

“The OA should also be respected and protected by the federal and state governments. This is what the OA wants,” he told The Vibes.

On June 22, Cameron Highlands MP Ramli Nor said talks are under way on a proposed constitutional amendment to place OA matters under the jurisdiction of both the federal and state governments.

He said that the proposed amendment is expected to be tabled in parliament by 2027 at the latest.

Ramli, who is deputy speaker of the Dewan Rakyat, said the proposed amendment would place the welfare of the OA in the same constitutional schedule, “meaning both the federal and state governments must be responsible, because there are many issues, like land, forestry and the community’s welfare”.

He said discussions are ongoing with the OA community and civil society groups in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Pahang, Perak, and Kedah with positive feedback from the participants.

“After the consultation is completed, the matter will be brought to the prime minister (Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim) and then tabled in parliament before the parliamentary term ends.”

Nicholas urged the government to list down the changes it is going to make so they will be clearly known to all.

“They can’t just say they want to change the constitution to protect the OA. How are they going to do that? What’s the actual phrasing?  They should list down the changes to the article they plan to make.

“If they want to amend the constitution, then they must protect the rights of the OA. A clear statement of rights of their traditions and customs and way of life. Both the federal and state governments have the responsibility to ensure this.”

Nicholas said that it is crucial that the issue of OA customary land rights is recognized (by the government).

“Because now they only recognize the OA houses, farms and graveyards and not the forest and other areas.”

He said they have raised all their issues with Ramli during a meeting with him last week.

“There were about 50 activists, civil society groups and OA communities that attended the meeting.

“Ramli also told us that he will need the support of 80% of the OA to agree to the changes before he can bring them up to the cabinet and parliament.

“We would all like to see more details of the amendments. The OA is not against amending the constitution, but what is going to be amended.”

Nicholas said that there are about 240,000 OA on the peninsula and 353 villages that are officially recognized by the Department for Orang Asli Development.

“However, we believe that there could be more OA around, which is an addition of 300 to 400 villages and the population of about 400,000. These could be non-registered breakaway villages.”

Meanwhile, Protection of Natural Heritage of Malaysia president Sophine Tann said that the most important matter that needs to be looked at is the gazetting of OA ancestral land.

“The OA have the rights to ancestral land as they are the original settlers here. By helping the OA on their land rights, we will also be able to help the forest (preservation).

“Most of the OA we met don’t want to urbanise as the forest is their home where they need everything to survive. They should also have the right to roam and hunt.”

Tann also questioned why the amendments would only take place three years from now.

“They (government) should be fast and precise on the amendments.

“We would really like to see what the proposal is. How are they going to look after the welfare of the OA? So, how is the government going to change the constitution?”

She said for the time being, the authorities could ensure that there is a huge buffer zone from any logging activities to ensure the wildlife do not wander into the 853 villages.

“Like elephants, tigers, monkeys, snakes and others. There have been many reports of such incidents.” – July 1, 2024.