Orang Asli from the Seletar tribe around Johor Baru are crying foul over the destruction of their ancestral graves.

In a statement today, Jaringan Orang Asli Seletar Laut representative Eddy Salim said two excavators had encroached into their ancestral graveyard near Kampung Orang Asli Sungai Temon and Kampung Bakar Batu to conduct earthworks for the Iskandar development plan.

“Upon being confronted by the Orang Asli, the contractor’s personnel failed to show any working permits but claimed all necessary approvals have been obtained from the authorities,” he said.

The Orang Asli lodged a police report over the incident on the same day and the work has been temporarily suspended.

“However, damage has already been done and it is irreversible. A long strip of forested land more than 200m long has been bulldozed by the excavators. At least 10 Orang Seletar graves were razed,” said Salim.

Following the incident, a dialogue was held with the Orang Asli Development Department (Jakoa), Iskandar Development Authority (Irda), the Malaysian Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) and local village heads.

They were informed that the Kampung Sungai Temun land area had been alienated to Johor state-owned Kumpulan Prasarana Rakyat Johor (KPRJ) in 1999.

In the dark over land alienation

“This is the first time ever we have been told about such a fact - that our land, including the community hall where the dialogue was conducted, has long been the property of a company.

“The Orang Asli community feels angry and helpless, when our ancestral lands are being grabbed away from us and yet the government has not come to our rescue. Worse, the situation has often come about that the companies involved are controlled by or linked to the government.”

He added that the destruction of mangroves has also threatened their livelihood, as many of the villagers dependent on fishing.

However, Salim thanked Suhakam, represented by Muhammad Sha’ani Abdullah, for its support.

“He sent a brief and clear message that the Orang Asli have rights over their native customary land, and this is an undisputable fact and it has been affirmed many times by the courts,” he said.

Salim condemned the ongoing development projects around their village without taking account of their interests.

NONE “If development projects such as Danga Bay and Iskandar Malaysia are to bring progress to the people, how could they have harmed our rights and livelihood?”

In December last year, some 500 Orang Seletar had protested outside the Johor state assembly in Kota Iskandar after their land was handed over to developers for the Iskandar development plan.

The villagers, also known as Orang Laut, are the original settlers of the south Johor region, living along the straits as well as along the Johor River and Pulai River.