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Malaysian indigenous people seek land, cultural rights

Malaysia's indigenous tribes are hoping that a planned revision of a colonial-era law will grant them ownership of forests that their ancestors inhabited for more than 10,000 years, activists said.

They say the centuries-old culture and lifestyle of peninsular Malaysia's Orang Asli, or "Original People," have been threatened by developments such as airports, dams and highways that force tribes to move out of their homes _ located in forests owned by the state _ into semi-urban settings.

"Our main concern is land," said Juli Edo, an anthropology professor at Kuala Lumpur's University Malaya who belongs to an Orang Asli tribe. "We want a legal backup for the right to own land," he said Wednesday.

Edo is one of the few Orang Asli people to have attended university and joined the mainstream population. Most of the 140,000 Orang Asli, who comprise less than 1 percent of the Southeast Asian country's 25 million people, still live in or near the rain forest, where they mainly hunt and cultivate rice. Others are scattered in coastal areas or remote plantations.

One of their long-standing frustrations stems from the 1954 Orang Asli Act, which British colonial rulers created to insulate the Orang Asli from a communist insurgency that fizzled out after Malaysia achieved independence in 1957.

However, the law remained in the statutes, and now allows authorities to relocate Orang Asli communities from state-owned land to be used for development projects.

Government officials, Orang Asli representatives and experts will meet March 10-12 to discuss possible amendments to the law, Edo said.

Activists say the Orang Asli's long-term residence and economic activities in the places they live should entitle them to ownership titles to the land.

However, the government has not decided whether land rights should be included in changes to the Orang Asli Act, which also covers issues such as schools and village leaders, said Zainal Ali, a spokesman for the Department of Orang Asli Affairs.

"Our aim is to have clear policies for the Orang Asli," he said. "It'll be a long process."

Activists also want the government to acknowledge the religious beliefs of the Orang Asli, who comprise 18 ethnic groups that traditionally practice different forms of animism, Edo said.

In official documents, the Orang Asli are typically listed as having no formal religion. Malaysia is a predominantly ethnic Malay Muslim country, but freedom of worship is guaranteed in the constitution for religious minorities, mainly Buddhists, Christians and Hindus.

"The government should recognize the Orang Asli's religions and customs in marriage and ordinary life," Edo said. "If not, it's possible the Orang Asli's identity will slowly be lost."


Source: http://asia.news.yahoo.com/050303/ap/d88j8ego3.html


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