Gazette reserve land for orang asli, Ku Li tells Kelantan government

KUALA LUMPUR: The Kelantan state government should consider gazetting reserve land for the orang asli, says Gua Musang MP Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah.

He said this would help to resolve land woes faced by the indigenous community.

"The orang asli feel that they are treated unfairly because their land is being encroached on.

"We have advised them not to do anything against the law, but we understand their discontent.

"Kelantan should observe how other state governments allow gazetting of forest reserves for the orang asli community," he told reporters at the Parliament lobby on Tuesday (July 31).

Earlier in the day, a group representing orang asli NGOs were in Parliament to hand over a memorandum to Rural and Regional Development Deputy Minister R. Sivarasa, urging the Government to keep their manifesto promises to the community.

Among other things, they demanded a revamp of the Orang Asli Development Department (Jakoa), preserve their ancestral land, and better welfare schemes.

The orang asli in several settlements in Gua Musang initiated a blockade about six months ago to stop rampant logging and mining activities in the disputed native customary land.

Workers for a Musang King durian plantation also set up a blockade near Pos Tohoi, causing difficulty of movement for the orang asli in the area.