Archive for category Orang Asli

#kerajaangagal52 – I fully support Cameron Highlands MP that the JAKOA director-general must be an Orang Asli

I give full support to the Cameron Highlands Member of Parliament Ramli Mohd Nor that the director-general of the Orang Asli Development Department (Jakoa) must be an Orang Asli.

Ramli claimed that officers in the Rural Development Ministry are trying to put a non-Orang Asli in charge of the Orang Asli Development Department (Jakoa). Read the rest of this entry »

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Call on authorities to ensure that there will not be a second Kampong Kuala Koh tragedy where 14 died mysteriously after suffering malnourishment and immunocompromise making them vulnerable and fatal to diseases

The Health Minister, Dzulkefly Ahmad seemed to have confirmed the analysis of activists Colin Nicholas and Dr. Steven Chow that the Kampong Kuala Koh tragedy where 14 Bateq villagers had died since early May is not so much a medical problem but a direct result of what happens when people’s rights to their customary lands are not recognised and that land is destroyed.

Nicholas, the executive director of the Centre for Orang Asli Concerns (COAC), said that after the land had been taken away from the Bateqs by the Kelantan state government and the destruction of their resource base and their traditional way of life, they became malnourished and underweight, lowering their resistance to many common ailments, whether pneumonia, tuberculosis or even diarrhoea, resulting in fatalities..

Chow, the team leader of the Federation of Private Medical Practitioners’ Associations Malaysia (FPMPAM) medical outreach programme visited Kampung Kuala Koh just a week before the tragedy unfolded.

He was appalled by the conditions in the village and said this was “a community left behind, dying from neglect”.

He said: “It was appalling. There was no running water. All the water tanks were empty. Pipes were broken. All we had was the bottled water that we brought along for the patients and the medical team. Read the rest of this entry »

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Latest Orang Asli tragedy of 14 Bateq deaths in Gua Musang proof that the six-decades-old Orang Asli/Orang Asal development policy an utter failure and urgent need for new policy and roadmap for Orang Asli/Asal upliftment

The latest Orang Asli tragedy of 14 Bateq deaths in Kampong Kuala Koh in Gua Musang is proof that the six-decades-old Orang Asli/Orang Asal development policy is an utter failure and the urgent need for a new policy and roadmap for Orang Asli/Orang Asal upliftment.

The 14 Bateq deaths is only the latest tragedy of the six-decades-old Orang Asli/Asal development policy, which had spawned other tragedies like the SK Tohol tragedy in Gua Musang in 2015, where seven school children went missing from school, ending in five deaths while two were found after 47 days in malnourished stage and the Kam Agong tragedy at Long Semadoh in the deep interior of Lawas, Sarawak 17 years ago.

It is most shocking and a great indictment on the authorities concerned, in particular the Kelantan State Government, that they were not aware of the Bateq tragedy resulting in 14 deaths until after more than a month of its first occurrence when Amanah Senator Husam Musa sounded the alarm on June 8, when four deaths took place in the first ten days of May, with the first death occurring on May 2.

Another seven deaths took place in the rest of 21 days in May. Why were the authorities, in particular the Kelantan State Government, so negligent and remiss as to be cut off from the Bateq tribe in Kg Kuala Koh to the extent that they knew nothing about the death epidemic claiming eleven lives in May? Read the rest of this entry »

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I have never said that the Orang Asli, who are the first inhabitants of the country, are not citizens, but asked whether they are full citizens of Malaysia

Before I came on stage, I received a call telling me that the latest Barisan Nasional dirty tactics in the Cameron Highlands by-election is to accuse me of defaming the Orang Asli people by declaring that they are not citizens of the country.

I have never said that the Orang Asli, who are the first inhabitants of the country, are not citizens, but asked whether they are full citizens of Malaysia.

This seems to be such a stupid question for every Malaysian is a full citizen of Malaysia.
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Are Orang Asli full citizens of Malaysia?

The question that has been nagging me since my several visits to Orang Asli Posts and Kampongs in Cameron Highlands in the past three weeks is whether after sixty years, Orang Asli are full citizens of Malaysia?

They are the first inhabitants of Malaysia but are they full citizens of this country sixty years after Merdeka?

This seems to be such a stupid question for every Malaysian is a full citizen of Malaysia. Read the rest of this entry »

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If Pakatan Harapan can win in Cameron Highlands by-election on Saturday, I will convene a Pakatan Harapan conference of Orang Asli representatives in Cameron Highlands to draft a blueprint for Orang Asli to become full citizens of Malaysia

If Pakatan Harapan can win in Cameron Highlands by-election on Saturday, I will convene a Pakatan Harapan conference of Orang Asli represnetatives in Cameron Highlands to draft a blueprint for Orang Asli to become full citizens of Malaysia.

Although Barisan Nasonal and PAS leaders and propagandists had spread the toxic and vicious falsehoods before the last general election that I was the real political power in Pakatan Harapan and will become the Prime Minister if Pakatan Harapan wins the 14th General Election, events have exposed these lies and falsehoods.

I am not even in the Cabinet and I cannot speak on behalf of the Pakatan Harapan Government. Read the rest of this entry »

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Time has come for Orang Asli in Malaysia to adopt the slogan “Orang Asli Bangkit” to launch a democratic struggle to demand a New Deal for Orang Asli in New Malaysia starting with the Cameron Highlands by-election

I confess that I was not aware of the truly miserable, atrocious and inhumane plight of the Orang Asli sixty years after Merdeka until in the last three weeks in my several visits to the Orang Asli Posts and kampongs in Cameron Highlands.

I dare say that 99 per cent Malaysians are not aware of the miserable plight of the Orang Asli – as all Malaysians, regardless of race, religion, culure or region, would have felt ashamed and outraged of the true condition of the Orang Asli sixty years after Merdeka.
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Why Najib did not visit Pos Lenjang in his highly-publicised by-election campaign trail? Is it because Malaysia will know how bad is the 33 km “roti canai” road in Pos Lenjang – the worst road I have travelled in past three weeks?

The former Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak made a highly-publicized Cameron Highlands by-election campaign trail but he did not visit Orang Asli kampongs in Pos Lenjang.

Why? Is it because Malaysia will know how bad is the 30 km “roti canai” road in Pos Lenjang, the worst road I have travelled in the past three weeks in Cameron Highlands and a shame and outrage to the claim that Malaysia is a developed nation?
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Are Orang Asli full citizens of Malaysia?

The question that has been nagging me since my several visits to Orang Asli Posts and Kampongs in Cameron Highlands in the past three weeks is whether after sixty years, Orang Asli are full citizens of Malaysia?

They are the first inhabitants of Malaysia but are they full citizens of this country sixty years after Merdeka?

This seems to be such a stupid question for every Malaysian is a full citizen of Malaysia.

But the question that demanded answer is how can anyone claim to be a full citizen of Malaysia when he or she is denied of the most basic infrastructures whether proper access road, clean water, electricity; deprived of the most elementary needs whether education, health and medical care, housing and economic opportunities; and most important of all, denied of their traditional land rights.

It took me two hours to travel the 30km “roti canai” road to Pos Lenjang – when it could be travelled in 20 to 30 minutes. It was an unforgettable and most agonizing journey on probably the longest and worst “roti canai” road not only in Cameron Highlands but the whole country, a road which served some 20 Orang Asli kampongs. Read the rest of this entry »

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Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah and Mustafa Along have given the best answer to Hadi who asked whether the Attorney-General’s civil suit against the Kelantan State Government was because of the Cameron Highlands by-election

Gua Musang Member of Parliament Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah and the chairperson of the Jaringan Kampong Orang Asli Kelantan Mustafa Along have given the best answer to the question by the PAS President, Datuk Seri Hadi Awang, on the timing of Putrajaya’s move to sue the Kelantan state government over encroachment into Orang Asli land.

Hadi ask why the Federal government chose to bring up this issue during the Cameron Highlands by-election, implying that it was an old and forgotten issue.

Hadi said at a press conference: “Are they trying to campaign? Or did they really just thought it about now during the by-election, and never before this, when this is an old issue.” Read the rest of this entry »

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2019 should be a good year for Orang Asli in Malaysia as it opened with another New Malaysia landmark when Attorney-General Tommy Thomas made history with the Federal Government acting on behalf of Temiar Orang Asli to sue Kelantan State Government for violating Orang Asli land rights

2019 should be a good year for Orang Asli in Malaysia as it opened with another New Malaysia landmark when the Attorney-General Tommy Thomas made history with the Federal Government acting on behalf of the Temiar Orang Asli to file a civil suit against the Kelantan State Government and its agencies to prevent the destruction of native land for commercial profit.

The other defendants in the suit include the Kelantan state director of Lands and Mines, the Kelantan state director of the Forestry Department, and five private entities. Read the rest of this entry »

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Cameron Highlands by-election a sign of a new Malaysia where firstly, there is restoration of the rule of law and secondly, there are heroes who are prepared to come forward to expose money politics and corruption

The Cameron Highlands by-election is a sign of a new Malaysia where firstly, there is restoration of the rule of law and secondly, there are heroes who are prepared to come forward to expose money politics and corruption.

There would be no Cameron Highlands by-election if there is no change of Federal Government in the 14th General Electionto build a new Malaysia to restore the rule of law and the doctrine of separation of powers among the Executive, Parliament and the Judiciary.

More important, there were people’s heroes who were prepared to come forward to expose money politics and corruption, taking the case all the way as witnesses in the High Court of Kuala Lumpur, resulting in the Election Court declaring on Nov. 30 last year that the MIC National Vice President, C. Sivaraajh’s election as Member of Parliament of Cameron Highlands in the 14th General Election on May 9, 2018 was null and avoid because it was tainted by corrupt election practices of vote-buying. Read the rest of this entry »

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A new mindset is necessary if we are to learn from the 60-year failure to eradicate the poverty, backwardness and marginalisation of the Orang Asli and develop a new policy to break the back of the problem

I have a confession to make – I never expected the condition of the Orang Asli in the country in so many Orang Asli kampongs that I have visited in the past two weeks to be so dire, primitive and atrocious that all Malaysians must feel both shocked and ashamed that we have Malaysians in 2019 living in conditions denied of the most basic of fundamental human rights – no proper roads, no basic infrastructure facilities like clean water and electricity; poor education and medical services, lack of proper housing and job opportunities; and most important of all, the long-standing denial of the land rights of the Orang Asli.

A new mindset is necessary if we are to learn from the 60-year failure to eradicate the poverty, backwardness and marginalisation of the Orang Asli if we are to develop a new policy to break the back of the problem. Read the rest of this entry »

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Challenge to Barisan candidate Ramli Mohd Nor whether he dares to admit that the report card for the 60-year-old Barisan Nasional programme to uplift the Orang Asli is a big “F”

Dare the Barisan Nasional candidate for Cameron Highlands, Ramli Mohd Nor admit that the report card for the 60-year-old Barisan Nasional programme to uplift the 200,000 Orang Aslis in Malaysia is a big “F”?

During my visits to the many Orang Asli posts and kampongs in Cameron Highlands, I was shocked to see the atrocious conditions of the Orang Asli community, where in many cases there is no proper roads or basic infrastructure of clean water and electricity, housing, the basic facilities of education and health, and most important of all, the long-standing denial of the land rights of the Orang Asli which are under the jurisdiction of the state governments.

I just cannot imagine how a caring Government could leave the Orang Asli community in such a shocking plight, not for one, five or ten years but for over 60 years. Read the rest of this entry »

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Najib should travel the worst “roti canai” roads and non-roads to the remote Orang Asli villages in Cameron Highlands to see for himself how as sixth Prime Minister, he had failed the Orang Aslis in Camerons and Malaysia to provide the most basic of infrastructures

I just came from Kampong Orang Asli Janggap in Pos Sinderut and I find the road access to it among the worst I have travelled to Orang Asli kampongs in Cameron Highlands in the past fortnight.

I understand that former Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak will be arriving in Cameron Highlands to help the Barisan Nasional’s Cameron Highlands by-election campaign.

As he will be here for four days from Thursday to Sunday, I hope he will travel the worst “roti canai” roads and non-roads to the remote Orang Asli kampongs to see for himself how as the sixth Prime Minister, he has failed the Orang Aslis in Camerons Highland and the country to provide the most basic of infrastructures.
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Najib cannot be more wrong when he claimed that the Election Court had declared that RM20 “petrol money” was bribery but even more important what are Najib’s motives for such a bizarre claim

Former Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, cannot be more wrong when he claimed that the election court had declared that RM20 “petrol money” was bribery but the even more important questions are Najib’s motives for such a bizarre claim.

Is it to ensure a new culture of integrity and zero tolerance for corruption in Malaysia or is it to frustrate such an effort?

One must admire Najib’s impudence and temerity for trying to use RM20 “petrol money” for Orang Asli to whitewash his RM50 billion 1MDB corruption and money-laundering scandal and kleptocratic premiership, but faced with 39 criminal charges (undoubtedly with more criminal charges to come) and accused of siphoning off billions from 1MDB, what has Najib got to lose in adopting the most bizarre diversionary tactics?
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Will Ramli co-operate to make Cameron Highlands by-election the cleanest in nation’s history with the BN and PH candidates making daily declarations of their by-election expenditures and invitation to Election Commission and NGOs to monitor their daily campaigns?

Barisan Nasional candidate for Cameron Highlands by-election, Ramli Mohd Nor said yesterday that if he wins the by-election, it will not be based on bribery.

This is a most welcome statement by the Barisan Nasional candidate and I applaud him for it, for there is a very deliberate and systematic attempt to divert attention as to why the election of MIC Vice President, C. Sivaraajh as MP for Cameron Highlands in the 14th General Election on May 9, 2018 was declared null and void, resulting in the holding a by-election; and in particular the significant role of the Pahang Mentri Besar and State Assemblyman for Jelai, Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail in the money-politics, vote-buying and corrupt election practices during the last general election, which were highlighted in the election court appeal and which Wan Rosdy dared not become a witness to rebut although the election court proceedings were adjourned three times for Wan Rosdy to testify.

Actually the money politics, vote-buying and corrupt election practices in the 14th General Election were not confined to Cameron Highlands, but was fairly routine for most Barisan Nasional campaigns.

The difference was that Cameron Highlands produced 12 “integrity heroes” – eleven of them Orang Asli – who were prepared to testify in open court about the Barisan Nasional’s money politics, vote-buying and corrupt election practices in Cameron Highlands during the last general election! Read the rest of this entry »

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Najib is trying to legitimise “global kleptocracy” and 1MDB scandal with a political come-back through a Barisan Nasional victory in the Cameron Highlands by-election

Former Prime Minister, Datuki Seri Najib Razak is trying to legitimise his “global kleptocracy” and the 1MDB scandal with a political comeback through a Barisan Nasional victory in the Cameron Highlands by-election.

This is obvious by two events.

Firstly, his “meet-the-supporters” session in Lembah Pantai, Kuala Lumpur yesterday where he was introduced as “a Prime Minister on vacation”; and secondly, the appearance of his eldest son, Nizar Najib, on the Barisan Nasional campaign trail of in the Cameron Highlands by-election. Although Nizar did not speak, he was introduced as one of the VIPs at an event at Pos Mensun, the hometown of the BN’s Cameron Highlands candidate Ramli Mohd Nor.
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Manolan wrong and committed an election offence if he had threatened Tok Batins but otherwise if he merely wanted to point out that it was unacceptable for Tok Batins to receive their salaries from Federal Government and yet continue to be local UMNO heads

PKR Senator Bob Monolan Mohd has kicked up a controversy with his statement in Pos Betau, Jelai yesterday which had been interpreted as a warning to Orang Asli village chiefs (Tok Batin) that their salaries and posts are at stake if they do not support Pakatan Harapan in the Cameron Highlands by-election.

If Monolan had threatened Tok Batins, then he would have committed an election offence which is actionable under the law, but otherwise, if he had merely wanted to point out that that it was unacceptable for Tok Batins to receive their salaries from the Federal Government and continue to be local UMNO heads.
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Will Ramli condemn the 1MDB corruption and money-laundering scandal and denounce the Najib premiership for the national infamy, ignominy and betrayal of being condemned by the world as a global kleptocracy

I spent the whole morning today visiting the ninth Orang Asli Post in Cameron Highlands (Pos Terisu) and the four Orang Asli kampongs in the area.

This marks the end of my pre-by-election visit to all the nine Orang Asli Posts in Cameron Highlands in my three visits to the constituency from December 30, which included being trapped at Kampong Orang Asli Semoi Lama on New Year’s Eve together with MP for Bentong Wong Tack, State Assemblyman for Tanah Rata Chiong Yoke Kong, DAP/Pakatan Harapan Candidate for Cameron Highlands M. Manogaram, cutting from all access to the outside world; crossing the river at Kampong Semoi Lama by driving through it despite its strong currents to reach Orang Asli kampongs in Pos Lenyang and Pos Titom, and I would have ended up in Lipis if my vehicle was swept away by the strong current; as well as my visits to Felda Sungai Koyan and the townships at Bertam Valley, Ringlet, Tanah Rata, Brinchang, Tringkap and Kampong Raja.

It had been quite a hectic but a most informative and educational visits. Read the rest of this entry »

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