Don’t ignore Orang Asli land rights if the government is serious about uplifting all poor bumiputeras, an opposition parliamentarian said.

DAP’s Serdang MP Ong Kian Ming urged Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak to speedily implement the recommendations of the Malaysian Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) report, especially since Najib included the Jakun and Sakai natives as part of the Malays, an ethnic group that needed an economic boost, in his speech on Saturday.

NONE “Thus far, no minister in the BN government, including the prime minister and the minister in charge of Jakoa (Orang Asli Development Department), has made reference to this very important Suhakam report and its recommendations,” Ong ( left ) wrote in a statement to the press.

“If Najib and his cabinet continue to ignore the findings and recommendations of this report, it will be proof that he and his government are not serious about addressing the true needs of the marginalised bumiputera communities in this country but is more interested in reviving a failed Mahathirist crony-driven model of bumiputera economic empowerment.”

Last month, Malaysian Bar president Christopher Leong also questioned the government’s delay in implementing 18 key recommendations of the Suhakam report, which is a culmination of two years of thorough investigation into Orang Asli land rights. 

The report was handed over to Minister in the PM’s Department Paul Low, who then said that a task force would be set up to study it further.

Among the 18 recommendations Suhakam had made is one for the establishment of an Indigenous Land Tribunal and another to reconcile past wrongdoings by returning land taken away or providing proper compensation.

This report documents many serious obstacles faced by the Orang Asli in Malaysia in keeping and using land which traditionally are theirs. Paying it serious heed would also help Malaysia abide by the many international conventions on indigenous people,s rights to which it is a party, Ong said.

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