The Orang Asal community sent a memorandum to the government today, in which it also called on the police to be neutral and not to victimise them in land disputes.

“There are many conflicts still, especially with the police whom we believe should not take sides when a conflict occurs.

“A lot of indigenous people want to defend their land, but they are seen as doing something wrong,” Jaringan Orang Asal SeMalaysia (Joas) secretary-general Jannie Lasimbang said.

Seven indigenous people from Sabah and Sarawak raised this matter at the Prime Minister’s Department in Putrajaya this morning.

They came in conjunction with the celebration of International Day of the World Indigenous Peoples 2016, which falls today, and the group submitted their memorandum to Paul Low, a minister in the PM’s Department.

“Much of our land is where our livelihood come from. We are finding that court decisions are not fair. They are not used to recognising indigenous people’s rights,” Jannie said.

The indigenous group made six demands in the memorandum, including urging the cabinet to immediately fulfil the requests of the community within the time sought.

They also called for the formation of an ‘Orang Asal National Commision’ to promote and protect the rights of the indigenous people.

“The laws that are unclear and do not protect the rights of the Orang Asal should be amended or removed,” she said.

“The government should also stop the process of taking over the Orang Asal’s adat (customary) land.”

The group urged the government and the private sector to engage with the Orang Asal community before launching a development project so that their lives and livelihood would not be affected.