The arrest of the men for setting up a blockade to prevent logging activities in their native land, have left their families angry and frustrated, as well as without their pillars of support.
“I am so angry because he did not commit a crime of any kind, just defending our land and demanding our rights.
“When the head of the household, or even any family member, is arrested, the whole family’s wellbeing is jeopardised. We have to ask others to help us,” Lisa Rosman told FMT, urging the police to release the men.
She added that she felt especially sad for her young sister-in-law who has a young baby and is now left alone without her husband who was detained.
“She depended on him for everything and especially for their daily needs too.”
Meanwhile, Herry Boy Angah said he feels the impact a lot because he had to disrupt his studies in Kuala Lumpur to return to his village. He came to help his siblings who are stranded without their father to help them, as their mother was deceased.
“What is the reason for their arrest. What crime and law are they detained under?
“One of those 47 men is my father. He was defending our rights. What is wrong with that?” he said, explaining that he has been forced to return to join the struggle of the Orang Asli in Gua Musang.
The sad circumstances facing the families of the 47 men was also shared by Jaringan Orang Asal SeMalaysia (JOAS) secretary Nasir Dollah, who said the families are suffering from the arrest of their breadwinners.
“The wife of one of the detainees was admitted to hospital yesterday because of an illness and she has to bear the pain of being hospitalised and being all alone, without her husband at her side,” Nasir said.
Yesterday, Persatuan Pembangunan Orang Asli Malaysia (Moada) president Bob Manolan Mohamad also admonished the police for their actions.
“The Orang Asli families in Gua Musang depend on their husbands and fathers to survive, so you can’t just throw these men in a lock-up for a few days,” Bob said.
He added that the police had also confiscated many of the motorcycles used by the Orang Asli in the area.
“At the very least, if they have the motorcycles, then they can go and get food from the shops, but now they’re stuck there.”
On Tuesday, police arrested 47 men for setting up a barricade at the Simpang Petei logging site since September.
The barricade at Simpang Petei was then said to have been demolished under instruction from the Kelantan government, after the police arrested the Orang Asli on Tuesday.
On Oct 3, the state government ordered a freeze on logging activities in the Balah permanent forest reserve in Gua Musang after 200 villagers formed a blockade in late September to prevent lorries from transporting extracted timber out of the reserve.
The Orang Asli claimed the logging activities near their homes were adversely affecting the environment and their livelihoods.
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