Confronted with allegations that the PAS-led state government has been slow in solving the problem of Orang Asli land ownership, the party points the finger at the ponderous pace of federal government reforms.

abdul halim abdul rahman Asked about problems regarding land being faced by the Orang Asli during the daily press conference for the Galas PAS election machinery, the party’s national election director, Abdul Halim Abdul Rahman ( right ), said that the matter is already being looked at by the state which has already gazetted land reserves for the Orang Asli via a state enactment.

“The delay in giving them titles is because it is only recently that the National Land Code has been amended to allow for Orang Asli to hold titles, previously they couldn’t,” he said.

NONE On a related matter Abdul Halim, the MP for Pengkalan Chepa, also explained that the Ladang Rakyat issue being brought up by certain quarters is not actually a valid concern for the constituency.

“The Ladang Rakyat is not a Galas issue, the projects are mostly in the neighbouring state assembly seat of Nenggiri. There is no Ladang Rakyat in Galas proper.”

He also said that PAS will cooperate with the federal government in development projects, especially since the land is under the powers of the state. The money and project may come from the federal government, but the land belongs to the state, he contended.

He cited as an example the recently-announced Public Housing Project (PPR) in Taman Wangi near Gua Musang for which the federal government, Gua Musang MP Razaleigh Hamzah and federal development agency Kesedar had claimed sole credit.

The land, the PAS leaders at the press conference stressed, belongs to the state and it was a joint project. They should have announced it jointly, they said, instead of claiming credit for it.

Orang Asli land problem is Kelantan's responsibility: DPM