JOHOR BARU – Any discussions on the status and proposed gazettement of Orang Asli settlements under sultanate land must be conducted via roundtable discussions and not openly.
State Agriculture, Agro-Industry and Rural Development Committee chairman Datuk Zahari Sarip said that he voiced the matter during a meeting with the Orang Asli community at several of their villages recently.
“There were some who asked about the matter. I asked them to hold a roundtable discussion and not do it openly, as I am concerned that certain parties may take advantage.
“I myself was taken to look at an area in Kg Sayong Pinang, Kota Tinggi, where oil palm and rubber are being cultivated by the Orang Asli, so there’s actually not an issue.
“The state government, however, is still in discussions with the Orang Asli community, and we hope to resolve this matter,” he told reporters when asked about discussions between the state government and the Orang Asli community regarding the sultanate land issue yesterday.
Sultan of Johor Sultan Ibrahim Almarhum Sultan Iskandar had on March 16 voiced his disappointment over some Orang Asli trespassing on government forest reserves for the purported large-scale cultivation of rubber and oil palm.
The sultan expressed his belief that some outside parties were behind the acts, taking advantage through the use of Orang Asli rights, and urged the government to re-gazette the Orang Asli settlements and reserves under sultanate land.
This led over 200 Orang Asli in the state to gather at the Dato Jaafar Muhammad Building, Kota Iskandar, Iskandar Puteri, to hand in a memorandum protesting against the proposal to convert Orang Asli customary lands into sultanate lands on May 8. – Bernama, June 24, 2023
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