When Jakun tribe member Zul Mamad left his village near Pekan, Pahang, on the morning of May 4, there was little to suggest that the day would end differently from any other.

However, when he returned, his house and that of six others from the Orang Asli tribe were turned into a pile of rubble - demolished by a company that had razed their homes to the ground for a plantation project.

"Six houses and one ‘rumah adat’ were destroyed in the blink of an eye… When we returned, all that remained was devastation and loss,” Zul, who is also the spokesperson for Kampung Sungai Baru, told Malaysiakini.

Zul related his ordeal today during a...