Orang Asli fishermen need licence to stay out of trouble with authorities, says rep

Orang Seletar fisherman Man Othman with his catch of the day at the Kampung Bakar Batu Perling jetty in Johor Baru.

THE Federal and Johor governments are urged to address the plight of unlicensed Orang Asli fishermen in Johor.

Senator Datuk Isa Ab Hamid, who represents the Orang Asli community in the peninsula, said fishermen faced many problems with the authorities because of their unlicensed status.

He said it was common to find Orang Seletar and Orang Kuala fishermen in Johor who don’t own a licence.

“But they are dependent on the sea for their livelihood,” he said.

He added that there were 100 Orang Seletar fishermen in Johor Baru, 200 in Pasir Gudang and more than 200 unlicensed Orang Kuala fishermen in villages along the Batu Pahat and Pontian Besar coastline.

Isa said fishermen complained of getting into trouble with the authorities for fishing illegally.

Orang Seletar and Orang Kuala, he explained, were not used to agriculture and farming.

As such, he stressed that it was important to legalise their fishing trade so that they could continue to earn an income.

“I have raised this matter in the Dewan Negara but there has been no response or solution from the government,” he said.

He also highlighted the matter to Agriculture and Food Industries Minister Datuk Seri Ronald Kiandee.

“The minister advised Johor to submit a report to the ministry on the issue if it wants the problem resolved,” said Isa.

“The fishermen can fish freely if they are licensed.

“They can also breed cockles and mussels to supplement their income,’’ he elaborated.

He said fishermen could expect to earn RM5,000 a year from farming cockles and mussels.

“Another major issue the Orang Seletar face is poor living conditions, especially the younger generation who has built homes along the coastline,’’ said Isa.

He described their living standards as deplorable as many erected homes on stilts along the fringes of Teluk Kabung, Teluk Jawa and Pasir Putih.

According to the Orang Asli Development Department (Jakoa), these sea nomads have lived on traditional longboats – known as perahu pekajang – in the seas of Johor and Singapore for hundreds of years.

Their lives revolved around their boathouses and they only used to come ashore to bury their kin.

In the late 1960s, the then Orang Asli Affairs Department relocated the Orang Seletar community to villages set up for them.

Today, there are about 3,000 Orang Seletar living in nine settlements in south Johor – Kampung Bakar Batu Perling, Kampung Teluk Kabung, Kampung Simpang Arang, Kampung Sungai Temun, Kampung Pasir Salam, Kampung Pasir Putih, Kampung Kuala Masai, Kampung Teluk Jawa and Kampung Kong Kong.

However, the younger generation who got married and had families, have resorted to building homes along the coastline as there was no room for them in the villages.

Isa hoped that the new Johor government would consider awarding land to the Orang Seletar for them to build houses.

“The ownership of the land should be non-transferable and the Orang Seletar must be prohibited from selling the land to outsiders (non-Orang Seletar),’’ he said.

Orang Seletar are considered as part of the Orang Laut natives of the Straits of Johor and are one of the 18 Orang Asli groups in Malaysia. Their interests are looked after by Jakoa.