Orang Asli : We voted for BN but we are called ‘penumpang’
By Philip Ho, Klik4Malaysia.Com
The Malaysian Bar Council has condemned the recent harassment by police and Jabatan Hal Ehwal Orang Asli (JHEOA) on Orang Asli at Kampung Sebir in Negeri Sembilan.
According to Bar Council President Ragunath Kesavan (second from left), a police officer from the Seremban 2 police station had questioned Tok Batin of Kampung Sebir regarding their customary meeting, two days prior to the scheduled event on September 30.
Ragunath said that the police officer requested Tok Batin to provide a written notification of the meeting to the police in order to obtain approval from the police to formally hold the customary meeting.
He then added that on September 30 itself, JHEOA and the police again visited the village and harassed the villagers for not obtaining a permit to conduct their meeting.
“This is the first time in the history of Malaysia that the police have told villagers that they need a permit to hold their own village meeting,” BRagunath told the media at a press conference today.
“We have been holding our customary meeting for so many centuries and so many generations. Why suddenly do we need to apply for a permit?” Network of Orang Asli Villages founder Tijah Yok Chopil (pic right) asked.
“Why are the Orang Asli treated like this? Where is Najib’s 1Malaysia? We are also very unhappy about the proposed amendments to the Aboriginal Peoples Act 1954,” she added.
“There is also the issue of illegal quarry and illegal logging activities in our villages but the police are not doing anything about that. Instead, they come and harass us about a permit,” Jaringan Kampung Orang Asli Negeri Sembilan (JKOANS) committee member Zurdi Baharu (pic left) said in frustration.
According to Zurdi, the state Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamad Hassan and also the state police chief Datuk Osman Salleh have yet to take any action against the illegal quarry activities that has been going on for 15 years.
“We also lodged 5 reports about the illegal logging activities but the police just ignored us.”
Zurdi’s family had the greatest scare of their lives when a large stone from the quarry landed on their house, nearly crushing his child in the process.
“We are sick of the trespassing, abuse and degradation by the government and the authorities. They only protect the corporate,” he said in disgust.
Bar Council Orang Asli Committee Chairperson Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan had called the recent actions of the authorities an ‘evidence of the paternalistic attitude’ of the government towards the Orang Asli community.
“They (government) are nervous about the proposed amendments to the Orang Asli act. The government is giving away a few acres but taking away hundreds of acres from them. They know that Orang Asli are also against the amendments. Memos have been submitted to the government but there is still no response from the authorities,” she added.
