JOHOR BARU – After settling a 10-year land dispute earlier this year, the Seletar community of Kg Orang Asli Sg Temon is concerned over calls to classify native settlements as “sultanate land.”
Although the state government has explained that the proposed status does not mean the sultan would have ownership of the land, Southern Johor Fishermen’s Association board member and village resident Tony Anak Dana said settlers in the village here have been in constant battles to maintain their way of life.
In 2013, after the Johor government alienated their land to developer Node Dua Sdn Bhd, residents of Kg Orang Asli Sg Temon filed a suit which reached a settlement in January this year after the dispute reached the high court.
According to the settlement, the villagers will be relocated a 90-minute drive away to Kg Orang Asli Pasir Salam in Ulu Tiram and would receive RM6,500 compensation from the Johor government, among other things.
Additionally, the new settlement will be located along Sg Johor which may be a new environment for the village’s seafaring Seletar community.
However, Tony said not everyone in the village was satisfied with the terms of the settlement, adding that the villagers would like to remain in the area.
We aren’t satisfied with the decision, but what can we do?
“The new village is quite far, it is 90 minutes away,” Tony said.
Tony said the village residents were not happy and expressed concern over the decision to designate Orang Asli land as “sultanate land.”
He said this sentiment was shared among all Orang Asli communities and not residents of Kg Orang Asli Sg Temon alone.
“The decision to put our land under the Johor sultan was done on the basis that our land won’t be misused.
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Orang Asli communities all over Malaysia just want rights to the land that they reside in, not being placed under the protection of another,” Tony added.
On March 16, Sultan of Johor Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar urged the state government to classify all Orang Asli settlements in the state as sultanate land, to avoid their misuse.
Although Menteri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi explained that the reclassification did not mean that the Johor sultan would own the land, Johor Network of Orang Asli Villages chairman Dolah Tekoi rejected the idea.
He said that Orang Asli settlements should not be placed under the ruler’s protection, given that there are legislative safeguards such as the Aboriginal Peoples Act 1954 and National Land Code in place.
Not just land, we have problems at sea too
Villagers at Kg Orang Asli Sg Temon live along the Johor Straits and depend heavily on the sea for a living.
Most settlers are fishermen, operate mussel “kelong” (platforms), or rent land to outsiders who operate seafood restaurants.
However, recent land-reclamation projects have affected the work of the village’s residents.
In fact, around 400-m away from Kg Orang Asli Sg Temon lies a large sand pile understood to be part of a land-reclamation project.
Tony refused to name the developer in question but explained that projects such as these have resulted in profits for fishermen dwindling by 80%.
However, Tony noted the developer provided compensation to the fishermen, but described the amount received as merely a “consolation prize.”
“Due to the land reclamation projects here, our catch from the sea has reduced by 20%.
“We did receive compensation from the developer, but each fisherman received slightly over RM1,000.
“That’s not enough compensation, that’s merely a consolation prize,” Tony explained. – The Vibes, April 8, 2023
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