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I refer to the Malaysiakini report Orang Asli marginalised by conditions akin to 'apartheid' .

We do not have to go into the polemics of the issue. We simply have to recognise that the Orang Asli are a neglected people and immediately formulate a comprehensive plan for their rehabilitation and development.

The Orang Asli are our people and how we treat them defines us as a civilisation. I feel the guilt of their neglect and their plight.

I feel sad that although we have known of the problem and have talked about it we have done little for them.

We criticise the Australians for the way they treat the Aboriginals and we criticise the Americans for the way they treat the African Americans and the Native Americans.

We should take a good hard look at ourselves.

Let us not politicise the issue. The government must immediately assemble all the Orang Asli experts and all the NGOs who have worked with and amongst them and formulate a plan for their development.

For a start they should all be placed on welfare and given a monthly allowance. The suggestion that they should be given a Felda-type scheme is a good one. Something like 10 acres for farming and one acre for their home.

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