Gua Musang MP Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah says he sympathises with the Orang Asli in his constituency but believes they should not take the law into their own hands.

Met on the sidelines of the Umno general assembly today, Tengku Razaleigh said the Orang Asli community may have valid reasons to erect barricades to block loggers, but it was unlawful.

"That is taking the law into their own hands. They should have asked the police (for help," he said.

Tengku Razaleigh, who is widely known as Ku Li and is now in his eleventh term as the Gua Musang MP, said he understood that the Orang Asli community in his area was finding it difficult to survive.

"The water is dirty and all their crops have been destroyed by the loggers, who been indiscriminately felling trees and destroying their villages," he said.

On whether the loggers should be penalised, Tengku Razaleigh said that was the Kelantan government's prerogative.

On Tuesday, the police arrested 47 Orang Asli activists over their role in the blockade.

The group, aged 18 to 40, were arrested after police and the Forestry Department destroyed their blockades at Pos Petei and Pos Bihai on Tuesday afternoon.

The blockades were set up in September, to prevent loggers from entering the Balah, Perias and Gunong Stong Selatan permanent forest reserves.

Activists said that logging in these areas were contaminating their water source and destroying their food crops.