A Department of Orang Asli Affairs (JHEOA) officer today dismissed claims by a group of Orang Asli villagers in Sungkai, Perak, that logging activities are being carried out on their ancestral land.

The officer, Panjang Ali Ngah Johor, said the logging is carried out some 20km from Kampung Rancangan Pengumpulan Semula Jernang (RPS Jernang).

He added that although the Orang Asli roam as far as Perak's borders with Pahang to search for food and other forest resources for their sustenance, their actual residence is far removed from Bukit Slim, the area allocated by the state forestry department for logging.

"The total area under the state forestry department is about 1,500 acres within which RPS Jernang occupies two to three acres in area.

"Yes, the loggers do go through their area in order to get to Bukit Slim, but the actual logging activity on Bukit Slim that has been allocated to the contractor would be more than 20km from the village," he said when contacted.

Panjang was commenting on charges made last week by RPS Jernang villagers that 26 years of logging activities on their ancestral land had culminated recently in the pollution of rivers that had long been used for drinking and washing purposes.

Jumping the gun

He also said the villagers were jumping the gun in blaming the current logging contractor for the change in the quality of river water, as the contractors had yet to resume work previously undertaken by other companies.

He said it was too early to blame logging activities as the culprit for the change in river water quality, as there are other activities, such as oil palm farming, taking place in other parts of the forest that may be the source of the pollution.

"There will always be environmental effects of logging activities, but the new contractor has not even started, yet. There could be other sources of the river's pollution, such as oil palm farming that is occuring elsewhere in the forest," he added.

On the villagers' claim that loggers had violated their ancestors' graves and other sacred sites, Panjang said it was important that all grievances be documented and registered through proper channels in such a manner so as not to paint the situation to be worse than it really is.

"The Orang Asli consider many things in the forest as sacrosanct. They also consider certain trees and rivers as holy. Where are the graves that they are talking about? Which sacred stones are they talking about?"

"It is important that we do not make things bigger than they are. Things have to be done in a professional manner. We are not siding with anybody, we just want to make sure the information is accurate," he added.

The officer said preliminary reports on the situation in RPS Jernang, including the complaints that have been made, by the JHEOA and the forestry department, have been completed and it would be up to the higher authorities to decide whether to continue with the logging or halt it.