SEREMBAN: The Orang Asli should refrain from supporting a political party which was recently set up to apparently fight for their rights, says Datuk Ramli Mohd Nor.
The Dewan Rakyat Deputy Speaker and first Orang Asli MP said he has been made to understand that the Registrar of Societies has approved an application by a group of individuals to set up the party.
"I am told that the party is named Asli and its members will mainly be from the community.
"As far as I am concerned, this is not good as it will divide the Orang Asli community," he told reporters after meeting members of the community here.
Also present was state Umno liaison committee chief Datuk Seri Jalaluddin Alias.
The Cameron Highlands MP said there were only 217,000 Orang Asli in the peninsula and they should continue to support Barisan Nasional which has been looking after their wellbeing all these years.
"I have been appointed the chairman of a secretariat to look into the economic development of the Orang Asli by the Deputy Prime Minister and we will continue to look after the community’s welfare.
"If we support another party, then our political power will be diluted and we will not have that much influence," he said.
Ramli said the Orang Asli should also remember that they were scattered all over the peninsula and as such, they cannot afford to be divided.
Asked if the leaders of the new political party have started making inroads into Orang Asli villages, Ramli said he has not received any information on that.
He said based on his personal knowledge, some 90% of the Orang Asli have been supporting Barisan all these years.
"In my constituency of Cameron Highlands, between 80% and 90% have been Barisan supporters.
"In fact, the secretariat which I chair will also come up with more programmes for the community such as in agriculture and entrepreneurship so they are more economically stable," he said.
Ramli said the previous Barisan government had also started a policy to send at least 10 children from the community abroad annually and this was still being continued.
"This year's budget for the community has also been increased to RM305mil and this augurs well for their development.
"So, it is my hope that you will not allow yourself to be manipulated by others for their personal benefit," he added.
In his speech earlier, Jalaluddin who is also the Jelebu MP, thanked the community for supporting Barisan’s candidates in Kuala Pilah, Tampin, Rembau, Jempol and Jelebu during the November general election.
