The Pahang Orang Asli community has rejected Menteri Besar Adnan Yaakob's plan to divide their lands into parcels of one quarter acres and distribute them to respective members of the community.

Jaringan Kampung Orang Asli Pahang activist Shafie Dris urged the plan to be postponed as the federal government is presently studying the matter.

Shafie said the decision to decline was made at a meeting of Orang Asli village chiefs yesterday.

"In the meeting, it was unanimously decided that the menteri besar's proposal be postponed until the cabinet committee on indigenous land rights - formed at the urging of the Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) - discusses the matter and finds a solution," he said in a statement last night.

The cabinet-level committee was announced in June this year.

Shafie said the Orang Asli community in Pahang would prefer a communal grant rather than individual grants of a quarter acre.

Communal grants, added Shafie, were more in harmony with native customary land system practiced by the indigenous communities, which recognised the intricate connection between their culture and the land on which they live.

He also acknowledged there were some who favoured the individual grants but said the matter should not be rushed and a choice should be given.