The United Nations Millenium Development Goals may have highlighted the high rate of poverty in the Orang Asli community but the real picture is far more serious, says activist Shafie Deris.

"In actual fact, the rate of poverty is much higher. I think it would be around 70 percent among the Orang Asli community," the Orang Asli activist said in reference to research done by the Economic Planning Unit.

Shafie, who is based in Pahang, was responding to the UN report that found poverty to have gone down across the board in Malaysia, but with the Orang Asli community figures remaining high in poverty statistics.

The UN report noted that 34 percent of Orang Asli households are poor while poverty hounds one in five of Sabah bumiputera households and 7.3 percent of Sarawak bumiputera households.

This is high, compared with the national poverty rate of 0.6 percent.

Plan to divide Orang Asli land

Shafie warned that the government's plan to divide up the Orang Asli land and grant them individual land titles may drive the community further into destitution.

Under the policy, each Orang Asli household will be granted 4,000 square feet of land for a house and two to six acres of land for planting crops.

However, the Orang Asli worldview is that land belongs not to the individual but to the community. Traditionally, its members are stewards of the forest, roaming surrounding lands for hunting and produce.

Individual titles will confine them to a limited space and alter their way of life.

"If the government presses on with this land ownership policy, more Orang Asli will become poor and even the better-off ones will become poor," Shafie said.

He added that the Orang Asli community are skilled in making crafts and the government should promote this to help boost their income.