IT is about time the land and district offices in Selangor look seriously into the gazetting of Orang Asli villages to avoid land issues that may arise in the future, says Datuk Wira Johan Abd Aziz (PH-Dusun Tua).
At the Selangor State Assembly sitting on Wednesday (Nov 27) at Bangunan Dewan Negeri Selangor in Shah Alam, he brought up an ongoing land issue which was taking place in Kampung Kachau Dalam, Semenyih, where rights of ownership were handed over to the Hulu Langat Farmer's Organisation (PPKHL-S) in 2000 despite the fact that the Orang Asli had been residing in the village since 1935.
Johan said a land tussle had arisen between the Indigenous Development Department (Jakoa) and PPKHL-S.
In an attempt to find a win-win resolution to this issue and after a series of technical meetings and site visits with stakeholders, a select committee from Selangor Malay Customs and Heritage Corporation (Padat) proposed that the village be preserved.
Padat also suggested that PPKHL-S be given a replacement site equal to the land size of the Orang Asli village, which is 25.5ha, as the land premium was paid.
“However, to ensure clarity and fairness in terms of land management, this village needs to be officially gazetted so that land boundaries and legal requirements can be implemented based on accurate data,” said Johan.
In view that there were 42 Orang Asli villages in the Hulu Langat district which had yet to be gazetted, Johan urged Jakoa and the state government to resolve this issue.
“This is so that the institutional rights of the indigenous people can be preserved and defended. It will also save the state government from having to incur future losses in terms of compensation, time and legal costs arising from tussles over land rights,” he said.
Johan’s motion was supported by Danial Al-Rashid Haron Aminar Rashid (PH-Batu Tiga) who said the heritage, traditions and socio-economic aspects of the Orang Asli should not be ignored for development.
“To do so would be breaching the human rights of the Orang Asli,” said Danial.
Selangor state assembly deputy speaker Mohd Kamri Kamaruddin who asked for a show of support for Johan’s motion received a resounding “Yes” from the floor.
