Four villagers of a Semai-Orang Asli community in Bidor, Perak, have filed separate police reports against Malay daily Utusan Malaysia .

They accused the daily of 'spinning and concocting' statements in an April 6 report to purportedly show that the villagers supported a disputed development project.

Three of them claimed that they had never said the things attributed to them while the fourth alleged that his remarks on the education needs for Orang Asli children were taken out of context to portray him as backing the botanical garden project.

Met after filing his report with the Bidor police station yesterday, Kampung Chang head Bah Hali Bah Said was visibly upset.

"I did not support the project, whereas the ( Utusan ) report made it seem as if I was. I did not even know the persons I was speaking to were reporters," claimed the 62-year-old village head.

The Utusan report stated that Kampung Chang and Kampung Senta in Sungai Gepai want the government to continue the development of the National Botanical Park in the area because it can bring numerous benefits.

The proposed botanical park under the Perak State Agricultural Development Corporation (PSADC) will take up 93 hectares of land that the Orang Asli villagers claim to have inhabited and worked for generations.

Despite assurances by the authorities that they will gain economically from the project, the 800 villagers are against it .

Did not know they were reporters

Meanwhile, Hali said he was shocked when shown the Utusan report which quoted him as saying that villagers are surprised by the opposition to the project as it would not involve the Orang Asli settlement.

The village chief also denied he had said, as quoted by the daily, that he "hopes the government will continue with the project because we will lose out if it is stopped."

"How can I have said such things when it is not my right to make the claim? I am not at all connected to the issue. I did say that it is up to the state government and the people (of Kampung Chang Sungai Gepai). I have no part in the matter," he said.

He pointed out that Kampung Chang and Kampung Senta are situated a few kilometers away from the older Kampung Chang Sungai Gepai.

His village, as well as the usual site where he taps rubber and extracts plants and fruits, are unaffected by the project.

Another villager, Kedek Chetom, 56, also denied having told the daily that the "people want to move forward and not backward."

"I was speaking in terms of the education of Orang Asli children, not this project," he said.

"Of course, the people want to move forward, not backward, in terms of university education. We do not want our children to stay in the state they are in. I do not want to get involved in the land problem (between Kampung Chang Sungai Gepai and the government)," he added.

Kampung Senta village head Bah Ali Kinchong also claimed to have been falsely quoted by the daily.

According to the report, he regarded the opposition towards the project as baseless because the land to be developed is government land.

"That is not my statement," he stressed when met at the same venue.

Another villager who cried foul was Walter Nuieng Ragai Nicholl. He said he never expected to see a 'chat' he had with two persons to appear as an 'interview' in the daily.

"I did chat with them, not about the land matter, but about things in general. We didn't talk about the matters which was printed in the report," he claimed, adding that he only learnt later that the two were reporters.

The four decided to file the police reports after being summoned the day before by the nairakna (council of elders) of Kampung Chang Sungai Gepai which demanded an explanation over their comments in the daily.

Village elders express sadness

In another meeting yesterday, the elders said they were satisfied with the explanations from the four.

They also expressed relief over the comments from Perak Menteri Besar Tajol Rosli Ghazali, who said that the project will not take off until all the Orang Asli supported it.

However, the elders expressed disappointment with how certain parties have twisted the villagers' words to give a misleading picture.

"I am very sad by the way we are being treated on our own land ... we are being treated like rubbish," said village elder Nonek Komen, 71.

Another elder, Ahmad Omar, 73, said he will not agree to the project on the land "whose rocks and earth I have seen grown from soft to hard over the ages."

Wak Luji Yee ( photo ), 70, said she is sad that the place where her ancestors fostered a connection with nature is now being pulled apart by those seeking control over the land.

"This is where I want to lay down for my final slumber," she said, leading some of those present to shed tears.