Photo Gallery Screen Layout Design - Application

My Final Application Screen Design

Summary of Information in the application

BASIC INFO

Orang Asli are defined as “Aboriginal Peoples” or “Original Peoples” or “First People”.

RELIGION

Orang Asli are traditionally animists. However, many of them embraced monotheistic religions such as Islam, Christianity and Hinduism.

LANGUAGES

They have several languages which are Semelai, Temuan, Jahaic, Senoic, Semelaic, Jah Hut, and many more. They also able to speak national language “ Bahasa Melayu” fluently.

ETHNICS & SUB-ETHNICS

There are 3 ethnic groups which are Semang (Negrito), Senoi, Proto Malay (Aboriginal Malay). From this, they divided to plenty of sub ethnics. They are Bateq, Semai, Jahai, Kensiu, Kintaq, Lanoh, Mendriq, Chewong, Jah Hut, Mah Meri, Semak Beri, Temiar, Jakun, Orang Kanaq, Orang Kuala, Orang Seletar, Semelai and Temuan.

POPULATION

Their existence is 0.5% from the total Malaysians which has been estimated 148,000. The largest groups are Senois which cover 57%, Proto Malays form 43% and Semang 3 percent. Their life expectancy is slightly lower than ordinary people which is 53 years old.

HISTORY

Orang Asli had become slave in 18 to 19 centuries. The slave-riders are from Bataks and local Malays. This people had swop down orang Asli settlement and kill the adults, captured women and kids to make them slave. Orang Asli were called sakai as it meant slave.

Orang Asli also had become target of Christian missionary. They were also subjects of anthropological research until now. During the British and Japanese colonials, Orang Asli helped the Malaysian Communist Party fought against Japanese and British to fight for the Independence of Malaya. The Departnment of Aborigines was established in 1950 by the British to win the hearts of the Orang Asli. Following years in 1954 the “Aborigines peoples Ordinance” was established.

CONSTITUTION

There was no protection for Orang Asli until late 1940s. They are also left out of the categories of people who are accorded special previlages under article 153.

Orang Asli have been mentioned 4 times in the constitutions.

• Article 8(5)(c), which legitimizes discriminatory legislation in favour of Orang Asli by way of provisions in the law of their protection, well-being and advancement (including the reservation of land) or the reservation to aborigines of a reasonable proportion of suitable positions in the public service.

• Article 45(2), which provide for the appointment of Senators “capable of representing the interest of the aborigines”.

• Article 160(2) which rather unhelpfully defines an aborigine as “an aborigine of the Malay Peninsula” and Ninth Schedule; List 1 that vests upon the Federal Government legislative authority for the “welfare of the aborigines”.

• Article 89, where an indirect reference to Orang Asli is inferentially made in with regard to Malay Reservations.

Updated 19/8/10: Project Proposal & Planning

TOPIC

Orang Asli Settlement

CHOSEN AREA

Orang Asli in the constitution

RESEARCH LOCATION

Orang Asli Settlement in Belum Rainforest, Perak Malaysia

TARGET AUDIENCE

Youth aged 21-30 year-old

TENTATIVE APPLICATION CONTENTS

Overview (Photo Gallery Application)

My application will be more likely to be a photo gallery with lots of images, descriptions and details. The reason why I chose to make a photo gallery was because I took hundreds of Images and I want to share them with the audience in order to make my application more interesting.

Home (Main Page)

-Basic Info

- History

POPULATION

PROTECTION IN THE CONSTITUTION

IMAGES

VIDEOS

VOICE RECORDED

TREATMENT

As we are going deep into the Orang Asli Settlement, I chose to provide essential knowledge regarding Orang Asli rights in the constitution. The core component that I'm going to make concern is the Rights of Orang Asli such as the percentage of gazetted area for them, are they being protected in the constitution, and etc. I will also give adequate infos on protectionism in the constitution towards Orang Asli because this is something significant that need to be preserved as the authorities had ignored their economic and sosial interest. To many of us, preserving environment is not a big issue but for them, environment is more than a collection of water, animals, plants and also landforms which means it is something to play with spiritual attachment.

OBJECTIVE

The aims of this study are to enquire about Orang Asli in the constitution and their rights today.

There are 2 main objectives which are

• To provide essential knowledge of Orang Asli rights in the constitution to the people.
• To protect their rights from being demolished

BACKGROUND SIGNIFICANCE

In general, not many people care about the Orang Asli rights. In order to educate them, I will turn up with my research and people can gain benefit by reading my articles and my interactive application. So every of us will have a good understanding on what’s happening in the Orang Asli community.

RESEARCH DESIGN & METHODS

Essentially, my research is based on interview with the Orang Asli community and its chief “Tok Batin”.  I believe this is a good way to know the dissatisfaction of Orang Asli rather than Interviewing the common people. I will be asking the Tok Batin and his people some questions such as how they are being treated by the government, are they happy with the serve from the government and other relevant questions. I will also bring my camera to take some pictures of them.

PROBLEM STATEMENT

Overview

As we are moving forward, we tend to forget something significant that we have. Hence, we are lacking of researchers who can keep us updated about the Orang Asli community and not much information we can find on the net. For example, I was searching about sub ethnic  Temiar, and I found very little information on that ethnic. That’s why I need to go out of the city, discover the jungle and seek for the live conversation with them. Subsequently we will have updated info or relevant sources regarding Orang Asli.

Research Questions

I will do an interview with the Orang Asli and here are my questions that probably I’m going to ask.

1.       Do you know Orang Asli rights were mentioned 4 times in the constitution?

2.       How you are being treated by the current government?

3.       Are you happy with the place given for Orang Asli in the constitution?

4.       Is there any provisions for the Orang Asli?

5.       Are you happy with your current life?

6.     What is your past history? During the British colonial, Japanese occupation, and   communist erra?

7.       Can you compare the treatment you received from 3 of them?  

PROJECT SCHEDULE

Here is the schedule of my research

BUDGET 

RM 250 - Trip and accomodation to Orang Asli Settlement in Belum

RM50 - Miscellaneous costs

3 DAYS TRIP SCHEDULE

ITINERARY FOR BELUM RAINFOREST EXCURSION, PULAU

BANDING AT 23rd JULAI UNTIL 25th JULAI 2010

23rd July 2010 (Day 01)

8am Arrival at Banding Lakeside Inn

Check in

12noon Lunch at Resort

2.30pm Walkabout lake vicinity

3.30pm Boat ride to Pulau Tali Kail (Manara Tinjau)

Trekking

Catching sunset

8.30pm Dinner

10pm Project briefing & Assignment strategy

Student discussion

Free activities

24th July 2010 (Day 02)

7.30am Breakfast

8.30am Assemble at Lobby resort

9am Sightseeing Rafflesia

(Pos X-Ray, Pulau Besar, Sg Gadong or Sg Dok – either one)

10am Explore Sungai Enam

Trekking

Picnic lunch at Waterfall

1pm Subsequent arrival at Pos Chiong (Team B)/ Pos Chuweh (Team A)

2pm Village exploration

Sewang Dance (Harga tidak termasuk didalam pakej)

Blow pipe demonstration

6pm Parade of ten species of Hornbill

(Subject to availability)

7pm Arrival at resort

8.30pm Dinner

10pm Free at leisure

25th July 2010 (Day 03)

8am Breakfast

10am Check out

REFERENCES

http://www.magickriver.net/oa.htm

http://www.aitpn.org/Issues/II-03-06-Orang.pdf

http://www.coac.org.my

Sketches -Layout Design

TENTATIVE LAYOUT DESIGNS

Layout 1 

Layout 2

Typography & Icon Design

TYPOGRAPHY

Icons design

A journey to Belum Rainforest

Day 1 (23 July 2010)

The Gamma 1 students supposed to be at the STAD building At 10.30pm before they off to Belum Rainforest.  The main objective of the trip is to do a research regarding Orang Asli settlement. At 11.30 the MMU bus arrived and we left with approximately 40 people in the bus. We have special guests Mr Arfan, Mr Radzi, Mr Ike Ong following us to Belum. Mr Arfan was a key person in developing the Royal  Belum. He worked there for almost 5 years and knew a lot about the Orang Asli. Mr Radzi was a lecturer in the Faculty of Creative Multimedia, Multimedia University and now has retired while Mr Ike Ong is a film director. He has directed short films such as Rentap: Iban Eco Warrior, Twilight of the Longhouse and many more.

After few hours on the bus, we stopped at Kuala Kangsar at 2.30am for refreshments and continued the journey at 4am. Around 6am we stopped again at the mosque at Gerik for the Muslims to perform their prayers and then had a breakfast at Mamak Stall before heading to Belum Inn. 1 hour later, we arrived at Belum Inn around 9am and we were given room keys to get rest before going for the evening activities.  

In the afternoon, we had our lunch and some briefings by our special guests. Mr Radzi and Mr Ike Ong were speaking about photography and how to appreciate nature while Mr Arfan talked much regarding Orang Asli as he said, he knew in everything about Orang Asli culture and he gave us some tips on how to entertain Orang Asli and being nice to them. I still remember Mr Ike Ong once said, "The world is belongs to young people, so discover it".

At 3.30pm we took a boat ride to Pulau Tali Kail and had a jungle tracking to the top of a small Island. Along the way to the top, I discovered the uniqueness of the virgin forest and transformed it into pictures. I snapped hundred of images and my attempt to get to the top was failed as I always tried to appreciate and feel the beauty of the nature rather than following my friends rushing to the top. So I lost their track. After one and half hour walking in the jungle, I returned back to the basis with my compadre Rashidi and waited for other teammates. I took a nap for about 30 minutes and when I awoke, all my teammates were gathered and ready to get in the boat to return back to hotel. The distance between PulauTali Kail and hotel is about 15 minutes boat ride with a 20 knots boat speed.

We reached at the jetty around 6.30pm. My teammate Adib asked  the navigator, Mr Suhaimi whether we could swim closely to the jetty and Mr Suhaimi replied "yes, but you have to wear life jacket". Immediately Adib took off his shirt and jumped onto the banding lake and he was followed by me. Looking at us having fun, other friends started jumping into the lake and we were having a great time and awesome bath for about 20 minutes before taking the real bath in the hotel bathroomJ. At night we had dinner at 8.30pm and later on, some friends went to bed while me, Pouyan, Adib and Fazri were online and did some final research about the orang Asli Settlement. I did not get a good rest the day before, still I went to bed at 1am.

Day 2

Being in the middle of the jungle was totally different from being in the middle of the city as the air was polluted. The morning was very awesome whilst the weather refreshed me. I could never ever wish to have this kind of feeling while in the city.

The team had a breakfast at 7.30am. I had Nasi Lemak with fresh orange juice while other friends had their own favorite dishes. As stated in the planned, we were supposed to have sightseeing Rafflesia, trekking and picnic lunch but those plans were cancelled due to time constrains. So all of us went to Kampung Orang Asli Jahai to do our research but before that, we stopped at the shops near to the Royal Belum Resort to buy some tobacco and daily stuff to give away to Orang Asli as proposed by Mr Arfan.

After awhile, we headed to Jahai settlement and the bus dropped us near to the road and we had to walk to the Orang Asli village. It took us 15 minutes to reach there and right away after I made to the village, I saw a mother bathing her son in naked but I did not take any photos of that as I remembered the guidance from Mr Arfan but I did see some of my friends took pictures of that moment. I felt it was really not right taking photos while people are bathing, you can’t do this to anyone, and it’s just violate the human rights. I did take some photos of their faces and also interviewed the deputy “Tok Batin” as Tok Batin went to Ipoh to attend a meeting. My asks to him were merely on the welfare of the Orang Asli, how they are being treated by the government, are they happy with the serve from the government, family affairs, their history, how they were treated during the Japanese occupation, British colonial and also communist era. He told me he’s satisfied with the current government and was 7-year old during the Japanese occupation and had seen his people being treated badly by the Japanese and British. He added that the communist era (Communist Party of Malaya) did nothing bad to them.  All those conversations had been recorded into my sound recorder and I will include some of them in my application.

After about one and half hour, we backed to the hotel for lunch. After lunch we were separated in 2 groups. One group rode boats to Temiar settlement and another group went to Jahai settlement. I was placed in Temiar group. So we rode boats to Temiar and Jahai settlements and it took us 45 minutes with a speed of 36KM/H. I bought with me a GPS (Global Positioning System) so I knew the coordinate and the speed.

From what I heard, Temiar are more advanced or cultured than Jahai and from what I saw, their houses are more likely same as Malay traditional house. I accomplished to get plenty pictures of the people there and while taking pictures, we gave them souvenirs, sweets, and some other stuff. Some of them were quite shy looking at us taking their pictures. I managed to ask some queries in my mind and recorded them into my sound recorder. The “Tok Batin” was not satisfied with how they are being treated by the authority. He said there are provisions for the Orang Asli from the government but there are many leaks in the authorities’ pocket. So they did not get what they should obtain. I could see his disappointment face in this matter.

From my view, I look at them as a common community and I do respect their culture. They speak like us, they eat what we eat, they think like how we think even they have a music band and they did performed in television and whatnot they are just same as us. We were separated by the culture and way of life.

My research project came to the end. At 6pm we left Temiar settlement to head back to hotel and along the way, I captured some photos of a group of eagles and some memorial pictures of friends riding a boat.  Once again, when we arrived at the jetty, we jumped onto the lake again but this time our lecturer Mr Muna swimming with us while Dr Forest was just watching us.

At night after dinner, I had a round table chat with few people including Mr Muna, my friends Kai Wen and Gahyathrie. We off to bed at 11pm.

Day 3 (last day)

Our last day had come; we had our last breakfast in the hotel, packed things, and check out at 10am. We leave the hotel and head to the highest place  of Belum via bus. We took photos there as a remembrance and because it is the highest point of the hill, the weather was pretty cool. We did Human Triangular which was proposed by Pouyan as a memorial of us. The picture below show the Human Triangular by Syafiq, Pono, Pino, Namazi, Pouyan and me. As Dr Forest said, "Wah Shauqie you were so fast" stepping on Pouyan and Pono back. Pono was angry at me as I stepped my right foot on his back Nike white shirt and leaved footprint.. :)

At last we moved back to where we belong which is MMU Cyberjaya. Me and a friend of mine Gayathrie stopped in Ipoh to get back home for 1 week midterm break while the others back to Cyberjaya  before going back to their hometown.

Flow Chart & Gantt Chart

PROJECT'S GANTT CHART

PROJECT'S NAVIGATION CHART (Flow Chart)

Mind Mapping of Research

Basic Info

Basic History

Orang Asli in the Constitution

Proposal "Orang Asli Settlement"

Topic: Orang Asli Settlement

Chosen Area: Orang Asli in the constitution

Objective: To provide essential knowledge of Orang Asli rights in the constitution to the people.

                  To protect their rights from being demolished

Treatment

As we are going deep into the Orang Asli Settlement, I chose to provide essential knowledge regarding Orang Asli rights in the constitution. The core component that I'm going to make concern is the Rights of Orang Asli such as the percentage of gazetted area for them, are they being protected in the constitution, and etc. I will also give adequate infos on protectionism in the constitution towards Orang Asli because this is something significant that need to be preserved as the authorities had ignored their economic and sosial interest. To many of us, preserving environment is not a big issue but for them, environment is more than a collection of water, animals, plants and also landforms which means it is something to play with spiritual attachment.

Target Audience

The younger generation aged 21-30 year-old


Contents that might be in the application.


Home (Main Page)
ORANG ASLI
-Basic Info
- History


POPULATION
PROTECTION IN THE CONSTITUTION
IMAGES
VIDEOS
VOICE RECORDED

Some videos regarding Orang Asli

Research on Orang Asli History, Rights in the constitution

Orang Asli during the Emergency 1948-1960

The Orang Asli were insignificant players in the political sphere until the Emergency began. This was Malaya's civil war between the Colonial government and the communist insurgents from 1948 to 1960.

In the early years the insurgents received much help and supplies from sympathizers in
the rural areas. However, the Brigg's Plan, which involved relocating much of the rural population into closely-guarded 'new villages', successfully cut the link between the two parties. Consequently, the insurgents were forced to operate from areas in deep forests, where they sought the help of the Orang Asli. Some Orang Asli were known to provide food, labour and intelligence to the insurgents.

The Colonial Government quickly saw the importance of the Orang Asli in winning the war and created the post of Adviser on Aborigines. However, initial attempts at controlling the Orang Asli proved disastrous for both sides. In an attempt to prevent the insurgents from getting help (food, labour and intelligence) from the Orang Asli, the British herded them into hastily-built resettlement camps.  A few hundred Orang Asli died in these crowded and sun-baked camps mainly due to mental depression rather than disease.

Later, realising their folly, and recognising that the key to ending the war lay in 'winning over' the Orang Asli to the government's side, a Department of Aborigines was established and 'jungle forts' were set up in Orang Asli areas, introducing the Orang Asli to basic health facilities, education and basic consumer items. The strategy proved successful such that support for the insurgents waned, with the Emergency being officially lifted in 1960.

This period also saw the first important attempt at legislation to protect the Orang Asli with the publication of the Aboriginal Peoples Ordinance in 1954. This Ordinance (later amended in 1967 and 1974 to conform to changing conditions) was considered a milestone in the administration of the Orang Asli, for it indicated that the government had finally officially admitted its responsibility to the Orang Asli.

At about the same time, the Department for Aboriginal Affairs was enlarged in order to make it an effective force. But, as the former Commissioner for Orang Asli Affairs noted, the only reason for such re-organization was to ensure a better control over the Orang Asli and to make sure that they would have less inclination and few, if any, opportunities to support the insurgents.

Later, in an apparent reversal of the government's policy towards the Orang Asli, the jungle forts were abandoned and replaced by 'patterned settlements' (later to be called 'regroupment schemes'). Here, a number of Orang Asli communities were resettled in areas which were more accessible for the Department officials and the security forces and yet close to, though not always within, their traditional homelands. The schemes promised the Orang Asli wooden stilt houses as well as modern amenities such as schools, clinics and shops. They were also required to grow cash crops (such as rubber and oil palm) and practise animal husbandry so as to be able to participate in the cash economy.

Nevertheless, the strategy proved successful in that support for the insurgents waned. This prompted massacres by the insurgents of Orang Asli communities who were thought to be on the government's side. Alas, despite the important role the Orang Asli played in helping to end the Emergency, many books on this period do not acknowledge the fact.

The Emergency formally ended in 1960; but for the Orang Asli it spelled the beginning of a more active and direct involvement of the state into their affairs and lives. 

Source: http://www.magickriver.net/oa.htm
 

ORANG ASLI AND THE CONSTITUTION 

Protecting Customary Lands and Cultural Rights

 

Colin Nicholas

Paper presented at the14th Malaysian Law Conference, organised by the
Bar Council of Malaysia, 29-31 October 2007, Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre.

 

Today, as it was in the past, the Orang Asli are locked in a dynamic struggle with the wider society over the control of resources they declare as their own, over attempts at denying and redefining their cultural identity, and over concerns of political access and economic distribution.

They find themselves poised against the machinations of the nation state that they now are a part of. It also the state – which, by its very nature, is politically organised to assert and maintain control over its citizens – that, in current times, is largely responsible for the ever-changing conditions of Orang Asli society.

The State and Orang Asli WellbeingDevelopmental and ideological policies pursued by the state consciously or unconsciously ignore the economic and social interest of the Orang Asli in part because the state has also come to regard the Orang Asli as being no different from the other citizen groups, and therefore not warranting of government on different terms, including in respect of Orang Asli claims to their territories by custom and history. That is to say, the Orang Asli are not recognised as a people.

But the Orang Asli are not simply aggregates of separate individuals belonging to a category or ethnic group. Rather, they are a distinct group that is associated with particular territorial bases. Indeed, the attachment of the Orang Asli to particular localities (or ecological niches) is one of their most notable and politically significant features whereas identification of self with locality is alien to the logic of modern political-economy.

To the Orang Asli, the environment is more than a collection of water, animals, plants and landforms. It is the basis of their spirituality and the source of their identity. It is to be treated with appropriate respect and must be kept in balance. Disrupting this balance (such as through pollution, over-developing, or over-hunting) will only result in tragedy, not just for the environment but for the people as well.

For this reason, the Orang Asli child learns from the elders about the riches of the environment and how it will forever protect them as long as they reciprocate the relationship. The usefulness of the products of the forest – for fuel, medicines, food, building materials, crafts, and for peace of mind – are continually shown to the child. The child itself is encouraged to use the forest as its playground.

That the forest is a living entity, with a soul and spirituality of its own, is also imparted to the child. The child believes in all this because the parents themselves believe in it. Remove this dominion and you remove the very basis of the fabric of Orang Asli society. As they say, it takes a village to raise a child. And that village is situated in a specific ecological niche.

Governments, and the people who represent them, somehow can never comprehend the need for the Orang Asli to identify with specific territories or customary lands. Governments, also, are generally motivated by a range of specifically short-term political, social, and bureaucratic interests that are sometimes contradictory and inconsistent in themselves, and these often cause significant changes in the lives of Orang Asli. The changes habitually conform to state interests and frequently produce a pattern of policy failure and local crises accompanied by a growing pattern of local dependency and reduced local autonomy on the part of the Orang Asli.

A reduction in local autonomy, nevertheless, is the key instrument for the state to effect control over Orang Asli society and resources. It can be said that Orang Asli have begun to be a target of internal colonialism. This is a state in which indigenous peoples are subjected to administrative control, dispossession of lands and resources, and forced or induced assimilation. The reasons for the propagation of internal colonialism are varied, but are usually related to areas of control. Ironically – and yet demonstrative of its effectiveness – such domination eventually becomes so successful that it is culturally accepted and becomes a fact of life for the Orang Asli.

But why is the state reluctant to accord autonomy to the Orang Asli? This has to do, in large part, with the fact that the Orang Asli occupy the last remaining resource frontiers in a nation-state dominated by a profiteering system searching for geographical space and natural resources.

So if their traditional lands have provided the Orang Asli with both content and form of their culture, their displacement from it, or its environmental destruction – an integral part of modern development – would destroy the fabric of Orang Asli societies in an unprecedented manner such that de-culturisation occurs. Precisely for this reason, therefore, the unrestrained state chooses not to recognise Orang Asli ownership and control of their customary lands – and in so doing asserts its control over a people, remove any remnant of autonomy-aspiring pockets of individuals among them

It soon becomes clear to the Orang Asli therefore that the agenda of the state are quite distinct from that of their own. As a result, conflicts frequently result, especially over claims to the Orang Asli’s traditional territories. And it is in the contesting claims over their traditional territories that the Orang Asli are today finding themselves increasingly having to resort to legal avenues in order to hold on to the basis of their identity as a distinct people.

Are there Protections for the Orang Asli
in the Constitution?
Increasingly, of late, when protests, dialogues, appeals and blockades have failed to secure their rights to their customary lands, the Orang Asli have been forced to resort to the courts. It is to the Constitution, in particular, that they turn to as a last resort to seek justice and fairness. But does the Constitution protect the Orang Asli?

First, it should be pointed out that writing a constitution involves consensus, consultation, compromise, and a conscience. The Orang Asli were evidently left out of the process when Malaya’s Constitution was being debated and drafted. This is why, as several legal commentators have long pointed out, there are glaring omissions in the Constitution where Orang Asli rights are concerned.

In fact, we can even say that the Constitution, to some extent, actually discriminates against the Orang Asli. For example, under Article 153, they are left out of the categories of peoples who are accorded special privileges (viz. the Malays and natives of Sabah and Sarawak). This article posits the mandatory duty of safe-guarding the special position on these privileged communities in specific areas of economic activity, education and employment on the Yang DiPertuan Agung.

The Orang Asli are, in fact, mentioned in only four places in the Federal Constitution. And that too in a rather unclear way so much so that it has also become increasingly difficult to argue for the same rights and privileges that are accorded to, for example, the Malays (on account of their claim to indigenity). The four places where the Orang Asli are mentioned in the Federal Constitution are:

• Article 8(5)(c), which legitimizes discriminatory legislation in favour of Orang Asli by way of provisions in the law of their protection, well-being and advancement (including the reservation of land) or the reservation to aborigines of a reasonable proportion of suitable positions in the public service.

• Article 45(2), which provide for the appointment of Senators “capable of representing the interest of the aborigines”.

• Article 160(2) which rather unhelpfully defines an aborigine as “an aborigine of the Malay Peninsula” and Ninth Schedule; List 1 that vests upon the Federal Government legislative authority for the “welfare of the aborigines”.

• Article 89, where an indirect reference to Orang Asli is inferentially made in with regard to Malay Reservations.

But in reality, the government has chosen to interpret the vagueness in the Constitution in its favour, rather than to protect the rights and interests of the Orang Asli indigenes. Thus, while the Constitution does authorise the government to enact laws that are in obvious favour of the Orang Asli – “for their protection, wellbeing and advancement” – it has not done so.

Was there Intent to Protect?
However, in the early debates on the protection of the rights of the Orang Asli, including that of their customary lands, suggests that there is consensus that the laws of this land should take the cue from the Constitution and proactively provide for the protection of Orang Asli rights.

The Legislative Council Debates of 1953-1954 contained a promise that there would be sufficient gazetting of Orang Asli traditional territories as Orang Asli reserves. Tok Pangku Pandak Hamid, the nominated Legislative Council member for the Aborigines (equivalent to our present-day Senator for the Orang Asli) had asked whether the government had taken any steps to ensure that the hereditary lands of the Aborigines were reserved for their use. To this, the then Minister of Education, Mohd Khir Johari, had replied that,

“under the Aboriginal Peoples Ordinance (No. 3 of 1954, Clause 7) there is provision for the gazetting of Aborigine Reserves. Steps are now being taken to create these reserves.…”

En. Mohd Khir Johari had also stated that,

“At the moment there are in existence in the Federation 58 gazetted Aborigine Reserves covering in all approximately 30 square miles (7,770 ha), and including some 5,200 aborigines. An additional 120 areas are currently under consideration, with a view to gazetting as Reserves. They cover about 389 sq. miles (100,750 ha) and include approximately 21,000 aborigines.”

This promise was never fully kept. Of the total 108,520 hectares to be gazetted as Orang Asli reserves, only 19,222 hectares are gazetted today i.e. only 18 percent of the promise has been kept. Also, it should be stressed that the promised figure only involved 26,200 Orang Asli out of a population of about 100,000 then. In fact today, only about 110 out 869 Orang Asli settlements (i.e. only 13 percent) are gazetted as Orang Asli reserves.

The question of adequate gazetting was also noted by Mohd Tap bin Salleh, a former Assistant Director-General of the JHEOA, in his 1990 doctoral study on the administration of the Orang Asli. He concluded that about 60-70% of Orang Asli lands were unprotected (Mohd Tap 1990: 71). In the same research, he also succinctly captured the adverse consequences of the non-gazetting or under-gazetting of Orang Asli lands, as follows:

On the other hand, compared to the limited rights of these (Orang Asli) communities that occupy legally designated areas and reserves, those Orang Asli communities that occupy areas in which other rural populations are facing an acute shortage of land, are denied even these limited rights. In spite of longstanding requests for all traditionally occupied Orang Asli areas to be declared reserves or areas so that their rights, however, limited, can be protected, scores of state authorities have been reluctant to agree to these requests. This has resulted in about 60-70 percent of Orang Asli communities having no legal rights or protection over the land they have traditionally occupied for a long time. The majority of these communities have become victims of newly created laws and regulations. They have suddenly found themselves to be illegal occupants of newly designated forest reserves, nature reserves, catchment areas and areas earmarked by the government for special development. As a result, scores of Orang Asli communities, although recognised as having the moral rights, but not the legal rights to occupy the land they are in, are facing constant harassment and constant encroachment by outsiders.

Being a civil servant, Mohd Tap appears to be parroting the oft-repeated assertion that the Orang Asli do not hold legal rights to the customary lands, only a moral claim. Notwithstanding the proclamations of our courts thus far – that the Orang Asli can claim common law title to their traditional territories without the necessity of showing a piece of document from the state saying so – the authorities should be reminded that the 1961 Statement of Policy Regarding the Administration of the Orang Asli in Peninsular Malaysia clearly reaffirms the rights of the Orang Asli, both as enshrined in the Constitution, and as envisaged by our founding legislators.

(The Statement of Policy has been confirmed to be still in force by a Director-General of the JHEOA during testimony under oath during the Sagong Tasi land rights case in 2001.)

The 1961 Policy Statement in fact carried some important broad principles and “special measures” to be adopted “for the protection of the institutions, customs, mode of life, person, property and labour of the Orang Asli”, as set out in Section 1, paras (a) to (f) on pages 2 to 3 of the document.

In particular, the more pertinent clauses are:

Para (a): The aborigines (Orang Asli), being one of the ethnic minorities of the Federation, must be allowed to benefit on an equal footing from the rights and opportunities which the law grants to the other communities. …

Para (b): The social, economic and cultural development of the aborigines should be promoted with the ultimate object of natural integration as opposed to artificial assimilation. … Due account must be taken of the cultural and religious values and of the forms of social control existing among the various communities, and of the economic change.

Para (c): The aborigines shall be allowed to retain their own customs, political system, laws, and institutions when they are not incompatible with the national legal system. In this respect, the methods of social control of the deep jungle groups shall be used as far as possible for dealing with crimes or offences committed by aborigines.

Para (d): The special position in respect of land usage and land rights shall be recognized. … Also, the Orang Asli will not be moved from their traditional areas without their consent.

Thus, while ensuring and securing the identity and autonomy of the Orang Asli, the 1961 Policy Statement specifically assured the Orang Asli they will not be moved from their traditional areas without their consent, further reinforcing their moral and legal right to their customary lands.

The Tunku himself recognised that the Orang Asli had rightful claims to their traditional territories. In his address announcing the new Radio Malaya Programme for the Orang Asli on 3 February 1959, he had said to the Orang Asli listening in,

The Emergency is coming to an end, and you are now able to return to the place of your choice and live in peace as before. … Do not forget, my government is working to enable you to return to your original dwelling place and live as you choose.

The early intent of the government to protect Orang Asli culture and lands was recently reinforced by its endorsement of the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (DRIP) – first as a member for the Human Rights Council which, on 30 June 2006, supported the resolution to put the Declaration before the General Assembly for adoption, and then again as a member state which voted on 13 September 2007 for the Declaration together with the majority of other nations.

However, despite all the protections, despite all the good intentions, and despite all international posturing, the sad reality is that the Orang Asli today justifiably fear for their identity, culture and especially for their traditional lands.

Some of the lands that were approved for gazetting as Orang Asli Reserves as far back as the 1960s, were never administratively gazetted thus placing these lands in serious jeopardy of being lost to others. And for no fault of the rightful customary owners. In fact, some of these areas have already been reclassified as state land or Malay Reserve Land or given to individuals and corporations – without the Orang Asli’s knowledge, let alone consent.

Missing Protections:
The Orang Asli Land Situation Today
From Table 1, we note that only 19,222.15 hectares have been gazetted as Orang Asli reserves in accordance with the Aboriginal Peoples Act. This represents only 15.1 per cent of the total land area (127,698.54 hectares) in 2003 that, in the eyes of the authorities, are Orang Asli inhabited places, Orang Asli areas or Orang Asli reserves as stipulated in the same Aboriginal Peoples Act.

Orang Asli are also said to be occupying 9,873.04 hectares of land without authorisation while 644.17 hectares are said to be legally owned by Orang Asli by way of individual lands titles (Table 2). That is to say, as of 31 December 2003, only 0.5 per cent of Orang Asli had titles to their lands (and most these Orang Asli have done so on their own accord).

Also, only 15.1 per cent of all recognised Orang Asli lands were duly gazetted as Orang Asli reserves. Another 22.5 per cent (28,760.86 hectares) had been duly approved for gazetting as reserves but, alas, the actual administrative gazetting was not done.

In some cases, the approval for gazetting was given in the mid-1960s and mid-1970s, according to the JHEOA’s Data Tanah of the early 1990s, but to date the actual gazettement was never effected.

In some other cases, such as in Kuala Krau and Bera districts in Pahang, Orang Asli lands that were approved for gazetting as Orang Asli reserves in the past eventually became re-classified as “Tanah Kerajaan” (JHEOA Data Klasifikasi Kampung 1997). More often than not, this was done without the knowledge or consent of the Orang Asli concerned.

 

Table 1
Orang Asli Land Status, 2003 (hectares)

Table 2
Orang Asli Occupied Lands, 2003 (hectares)

Table 3
Change in Orang Asli Land Status
1999-2003 (hectres)

What is also of concern is that even the area of Orang Asli gazetted reserves have been decreasing over the years. From Table 3 above, it will be seen that from 1990 to 2003 a total of 1,444.81 hectares of Orang Asli reserves were de-gazetted.

Furthermore, another 7,315.47 hectares of Orang Asli lands that were approved for gazetting, was not only never gazetted but their ‘approved’ status was eventually revoked. Thus, from 1990 to 2003, at least 8,760.28 hectares of recognized Orang Asli lands had their status retracted.

In the same period, nevertheless, there was an increase of applications for Orang Asli reserves, from 67,019.46 hectares in 1990 to 79,715.53 hectare in 2003. It should be noted however that the majority of these new applications for gazetting were to replace Orang Asli lands that were de-gazetted for development projects (such as the KLIA and Selangor Dam projects) or for new resettlement schemes. Even so, the status of these lands is that of mere ‘applications’. They do not have the legal weight of the second category (‘approved for gazetting but not gazetted yet’) which, it should be added, in itself was also not a good enough category to secure Orang Asli lands.

As noted by the judges in the High Court and Court of Appeal Judgments in the Sagong Tasi case, the main problems facing the Orang Asli with regard to their customary lands is one in which the government has failed in its statutory duty to protect Orang Asli lands from encroachment, exploitation and appropriation by others (including the government itself). As a result of the state and federal governments’ neglect in both under-gazetting and not gazetting areas which they knew were inhabited by the Orang Asli, the latter’s  rights in the land were placed in serious jeopardy.

New Orang Asli Land Policy
to give land to the Orang Asli?
The proposed Orang Asli Land Policy is bandied about as aimed at addressing the Orang Asli land problem. It plans to set aside some 75,900 hectares for 30,000 Orang Asli families, who will each get 6.25 acres (2.53 hectares) of agricultural land and homestead. But as, we have seen above, the government has already recognised 127,698 hectares as being Orang Asli lands, albeit with varying statuses.

Thus, with the setting aside of 75,900 hectares for the Orang Asli under the proposed Orang Asli Land Policy, the reality is that the Orang Asli will stand to lose 51,798 hectares (40 per cent) their government-recognised lands now. They will also stand to lose all other lands that they are now occupying or stake a customary claim to.

Furthermore, these 6.25 acre (2.53 hectares) family plots are assigned to them on a 99-year-lease basis. Nothing, as such, can be more graphic of the Orang Asli’s fate than this twist in the knife: that their inalienable right to their land now has an expiry date!

So how did we come to this stage where Orang Asli rights, especially rights to land, no longer protected? And what is the way out?


Going back to the Constitution
Clearly the economic and political powers-that-be, and those who are in cahoots with them, are using their (immoral) clout to get at the lands and resources of the Orang Asli. And frequently they use their interpretation of the law to deny the Orang Asli their rights to their traditional lands. And they are doing this at an alarmingly increasing rate.

The Orang Asli face an uphill battle in challenging them at all levels. Ultimately, the last bastion of their rights falls at the feet of our judges. Orang Asli are hoping that they will continue to defend the spirit of the Constitution and the good, moral and legal intentions of our founding lawmakers.

Like them, I hold the view that there are protections to Orang Asli rights to land and life in the Constitution, as well as in the policies and intentions of the government.

We can only hope that the courts will continue to guarantee these protections, not as an act of pity or charity, but because the Constitution and our political affirmations require it to be so.

The Orang Asli have looked upon the courts as their last resort in their pursuit of only one thing they seek – justice.

Source: http://www.coac.org.my

More working paper on Orang Asli Rights

http://www.aitpn.org/Issues/II-03-06-Orang.pdf