Kelantan Menteri Besar Ahmad Yakob was handed a memorandum today, calling for an end to encroachment into Orang Asli ancestral lands in Lojing, the hill village in Gua Musang that is located next to Cameron Highlands.

The memorandum was handed over to Ahmad’s office by representatives of the Network of Kelantan Orang Asli Villages (JKOAK), who were accompanied by Parti Sosialis Malaysia’s (PSM) Cameron Highlands branch secretary Suresh Kumar.

This group of 80 Orang Asli from Kg Sendrod, Kg Sigar, Kg Kuala Tahu and Kg Kelaik in Lojing travelled an estimated 262km to the menteri besar’s office in Kota Bahru.

However, Ahmad was not available to receive the memorandum today and his secretary, Ahmad Syazwan Muhammad Hasan, accepted it on the menteri besar’s behalf.

Another state government official, the menteri besar’s right-hand secretary Shamsul Abu Bakar, then pledged to arrange a meeting between the Ahmad and the affected Orang Asli within a month’s time.

This was not a new issue for the Orang Asli of Lojing.

Their serene lifestyle and heritage of these Orang Asli dwellings were affected in 2000, when farmers, oil palm and rubber estates, iron ore mining companies, state government agencies and hotel owners forcibly encroached into their lands.

While the Lojing Orang Asli are thankful for aid from the state government and Tabung Tok Kenali (Tatok), they also hope the state government would put t stop to the encroachment into their ancestral lands.

Lands alienated under ‘Ladang Rakyat’ project

Signed by 300 Lojing residents, the memorandum calls for amendments to the Kelantan government’s Ladang Rakyat project, under which their lands have been alienated to private companies on grounds that the Orang Asli lack the means to develop their land.

Other issues broached in the memorandum are:

  • Encroachments into Orang Asli ancestral lands have resulted in loss of income for the people;

  • Pollution is occurring in the water catchment areas of their villages because of soil activities in Kg Sigar, Kg Sendrod and Kg Kuala Tahu by the companies Moonriver Lodge (Sigar Highlands) and All Green Sdn Bhd;

  • Land encroachment in Kg Kelaik is by iron ore mining companies Syarikat Perlombongan Gua Musang Sdn Bhd and Sterling Goldhill Sdn Bhd. The strong river currents caused by these companies in Sg Kelaik resulted in the death of a villager on July 23, 2015. In addition, the Sg Kelaik water is polluted, rendering it unusable for the villagers’ daily needs; and

    • Orang Asli village territories in Kg Kelaik have been taken over by oil palm estate companies Ladang Kelantan Sdn Bhd, Yung Shin Sdn Bhd and Ladang MJB. Because of their activities, the villagers are also affected by water pollution and excessive use of pesticides by these companies.

    Deputy Menteri Besar Mohd Amar Nik Abdullah had previously announced that the Kelantan government would not hesitate take action against companies encoraching into Orang Asli land in Lojing, if they did not adhere to operational guidelines set by the state government.

    According to PSM’s Suresh Kumar, the Lojing Orang Asli have also lodged a report with the Gua Musang district police and its investigating officer has referred the case to the Gua Musang District Office.

    The Lojing Orang Asli residents also declared that they were acting for their land rights and the rights of all the villagers and not in the interest of any political entity.