The Orang Asli have had it up to here with the Kelantan government. In short, enough is enough.

A recent protest mounted by nearly 1,000 Orang Asli in Gua Musang reflects the community's intolerance towards the oppression by the Kelantan government which has allowed a third party to encroach on their ancestral land.

Rural and Regional Development Minister Mohd Shafie Apdal said the matter could have been avoided if the state government had quickly gazetted the ancestral land which provided them shelter and sustenance.

"I am saddened over the incident due to the Kelantan government's failure to address the problem quickly.

"Encroaching the ancestral land destroys their life and source of livelihood," he told reporters after opening a community programme at the Brooke Post Orang Asli settlement in Lojing, Gua Musang, today.

kelantan temiar orang asli set road blockade 290112 3 On Jan 28, 13 Orang Asli of the Temiar tribe were detained by the police, following a protest over illegal logging of the ancestral land in Kuala Betis.

Shafie said the community was also angry over the destruction of its water catchment area located on the ancestral land, which they had used for years.

Illegal loggers are believed to have damaged the water catchment area.

"I have asked the Orang Asli Development Department to resolve the issue with the Kelantan government," said the minister.

Gazette native lands as NCR

On his call to state governments to gazette native ancestral lands as native customary lands, he said certain states like Terengganu had been proactive and hoped Kelantan would take appropriate measures.

kelantan temiar orang asli set road blockade 290112 4 Shafie later made small talk with the Orang Asli community and met eight of the 13 Orang Asli who were nabbed in connection with the protest.

He later visited the Chin Teck farm one-stop community development project and expressed satisfaction over works carried out by agencies such as the South Kelantan Development Authority (Kesedar) in improving the livelihood of the people in Hulu Kelantan.

(Kesedar has also built 300 houses for participants of the project).

The ministry will set up rural information centres in strategic areas nationwide to enable the people to obtain information on ministries and agencies, said Shafie, adding that the first centre would be opened in Gopeng, Perak tomorrow, followed by another in Wakaf Che Yeh, Kelantan.

- Bernama