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In historic first, Putrajaya sues Kelantan on behalf of Orang Asli

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It is the first time the federal government is taking legal action on behalf of the Orang Asli to protect their native lands.

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Free Malaysia Today
A group of Orang Asli outside the Prime Minister’s Office in August last year. Putrajaya today announced a suit against the Kelantan state government, accusing it of destroying Orang Asli native lands.

PETALING JAYA:
Putrajaya has filed a suit against the PAS-ruled Kelantan government over encroachments into Orang Asli settlements, the first such suit by the federal government involving native land rights.

It also wants an injunction to stop private companies from encroaching into native lands to carry out commercial activities.

“The beneficiaries of this suit are the Orang Asli. The litigation will be cost-free to them,” Attorney-General Tommy Thomas said in a statement today.

The suit filed in the High Court at Kota Bharu has named the state government, state director of Lands and Mines, state director of Forestry Department, and five private entitites.

Thomas said this was the first time since independence that the federal government was instituting legal proceedings on behalf of the Orang Asli, in what is seen as Putrajaya’s acknowledgement of its constitutional and legal duty to protect them.

“The Orang Asli have a rich and ancient history. Since time immemorial, they have lived a peaceful and sustainable existence in the forests of Malaya,” Thomas said.

He said the Orang Asli rely heavily upon their ancestral land for economic and cultural sustenance.

“Indeed the entirety of their heritage, traditions and livelihood is dependent upon their ancestral land and the resources connected to their land,” he added.

Thomas, who as a lawyer was an ardent advocate of Orang Asli rights, said the fundamental rights of the community had been neglected for far too long.

The Kelantan government and its agencies had in recent times granted logging licences to private companies to enter the native land of the Temiar Orang Asli in Pos Simpor, near Gua Musang.

Vast areas of forests were reportedly cleared to make way for durian and rubber tree plantations.

Thomas said this deprived the Temiar Orang Asli of their native land and resources, and caused widespread erosion, pollution and irreparable damage to the ecology and landscape of Pos Simpor.

“Regrettably, the Kelantan government did not consult the Temiar Orang Asli prior to granting these logging licenses nor offer them any compensation for the deprivation of their native land and resources,” he added.

He said although the Kelantan government had jurisdiction over matters relating to land, forestry and mining, it was also bound by a paramount and non-delegable duty to protect and preserve the welfare of the Temiar Orang Asli.

“Commercial development and the pursuit of profit must not come at the expense of the Temiar Orang Asli and their inherent right to the land and resources which they have traditionally owned and used,” he said.

Across the globe, Thomas said the fundamental rights of indigenous peoples have been recognised, declared and enforced in landmark court cases.

“It is time that Malaysia joins the rank of nations recognising and protecting the rights of our Orang Asli,” he said.

Bernama reports that the suit has been set for mention on Jan 22.

The case will be heard before Judicial Commissioner Wan Farid Wan Salleh.

According to a source, the suit was filed by the AGC, representing the federal government, on Jan 14 at the Kota Bharu High Court, with a certificate of urgency.

“We received a sealed copy of the statement of claim from the court on Tuesday and we are also in the process of submitting the statement of claim to the Kelantan state government and several other defendants,” said the source, adding that some of the defendants had also received “sealed copies” of the claim statement from the AGC.

Asked about the proceedings on Jan 22, the source said the court would probably hear the application of the federal government, as the sole plaintiff in the suit, to seek an injunction order to prevent intrusion and destruction of native land for commercial gain by the private sector.

Bernama said in its statement of claim, the federal government named Fleet Precision Sdn Bhd, the Kelantan state land and mines director, the Kelantan state Forestry Department director, the Kelantan state government, Koperasi Kijang Mas Negeri Kelantan Berhad, KPG Maju Enterprise Sdn Bhd, Ringgit Saksama (M) Sdn Bhd and M7 Plantation Berhad as the first to eighth defendants.

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