Rural and Regional Development Minister Shafie Apdal today expressed regret over the action of certain quarters of politicising the issue of Orang Asli land ownership.

He said the government had never hampered the progress of the Orang Asli or regarded them as second-class citizens.

shafie apdal and mps no defection pc 280808 04 Shafie ( right) said allotting land for the Orang Asli was a complex matter as it involved state governments' jurisdiction.

"We don't have the power to distribute land to the Orang Asli, whether in Pahang, Perak, Negeri Sembilan or Kelantan as it would require the approval of the respective state governments," he said at the launching of the new logo of Kolej Poly-Tech Mara (KPTM), in Kuala Lumpur today.

Due to this, Shafie said, the government would be amending the Orang Asli Act 1954 to improve the provisions so as to facilitate gazetting of Orang Asli land to resolve the ownership problem.

He said the government was also gathering views from the Orang Asli community and discussing with the relevant non-governmental organisations to fine-tune the proposed amendments before being brought to the Cabinet.

- Bernama