The indigenous Jakun Tribe in Pahang convened a formal meeting attended by key stakeholders, after the Pahang State Government delegated its fiduciary responsibilities, including development of land, to a private entity, the Pahang Orang Asli Corporation (ORACO), without obtaining consent from the indigenous communities.
They urged the Pahang State Government to improve governance practices and formally acknowledge the rights of Malaysia’s indigenous peoples, affirming the sovereignty of these communities.
The attendees included the Tok Batins, who serve as heads of the village, representatives from various indigenous peoples’ networks, their appointed legal counsel, and communities from 44 villages in Pahang.
The ORACO, established as a statutory body by Pahang in 2022, has been entrusted with the responsibility of managing and promoting the socio-economic development of lands within the State.
Recently, it has taken over control of the management of community and commercial replanting projects (Tanam Semula Komersial). Nonetheless, as a private entity, ORACO’s involvement has introduced ambiguity between its profit-driven objectives and the advancement of indigenous communities.
Attendees of the meeting convened by the indigenous Jakun Tribe in Pahang.
Indigenous land ownership
Land and natural resources are important for the indigenous people given the profound connection between them and the land as a vital source of sustenance. This relationship is integral to their unique cultural, spiritual, knowledge-based traditions and identity.
Land also serves as an essential element in development from both economic and physical standpoints. In the absence of land ownership, the indigenous people are unable to engage in cultivation, farming, or settlement activities.
The issue of indigenous land ownership is currently mired in legal complexities, particularly concerning the laws and principles governing customary land ownership. This matter is intricately linked to the 1965 State Land Code (Kanun Tanah Negara or KTN), which has yet to recognize or enable the registration of ownership rights for customary lands.
As seen in section 4(2) of the KTN, there remains a lack of explicit detail regarding the holding and customary rights of indigenous peoples. Similarly, section 4(1) stipulates that all unregistered or reserved land is owned by the state.
Private land is determined solely through a registration system. Consequently, this situation effectively results in indigenous people’s customary lands being considered state property due to their unregistered status despite having been inhabited by them since ancient times.
The gazettement of indigenous people’s land is a significant concern, as the gazetted area is disproportionately small compared to their vast ancestral territories. Furthermore, data on the allocation of ownership rights to the indigenous people shows a notably low proportion relative to the total land area they occupy. The table below provides a comprehensive overview of the status of Indigenous People territories in Peninsular Malaysia as recorded in 2014.
Image credit: Department of Orang Asli Development
Responses from the indigenous community
The Tok Batin (village headman) from Kampung Kundang said: “ORACO has encroached upon our ladang (farm) and taken a lorry of oil palm without our consent. The women from our ladang observed this incident. We couldn’t let them leave unless they returned our oil palms.”
The Tok Batin said the lorry of oil palm was equivalent to 150 villagers’ hard work. Depending on market prices, each shareholder may receive RM300.
The Tok Batin from Kampung Kundang.
An Indigenous Jakun resident from Kuala Lipis said, “I must express my dissatisfaction with our Tok Batin and our community in Kuala Lipis, as they all support ORACO.
“I own land passed down through generations from both my father and mother-in-law. We are the only family with reservations about ORACO. In response to ORACO taking the oil palm we planted, we have reported the matter to the police. Our actions are solely aimed at defending our ancestral land.
“My question is, Am I doing the right thing in protecting my land?”
An indigenous Jakun resident from Kuala Lipis.
Another member of the Indigenous Jakun community said: “Compared to the respective Batin here, I consider myself an ordinary person facing significant risk. ORACO has encroached on my ladang, which spans only five to six hectares. It’s our family’s only hope for income. I am very disappointed with ORACO’s conduct.
“If feasible, I would call upon Batin, as a representative of the Jakun tribe, to issue a formal memorandum against ORACO’s actions.”
The Tok Batin from Kampung Permatang Siput.
The Tok Batin from Kampung Permatang Siput commented: “Currently, ORACO is not the only entity I’m dealing with in our kampung; there’s also another entity, Enggang Holdings Sdn Bhd.
“Enggang Holdings’ involvement in the Pahang Peatland Restoration Project, covering approximately 110,000 hectares, raises concerns about preserving cultural heritage and traditional lifestyles, as our homes are within the project area.
“The forest is a vital source of essential resources, sustaining our community through foraging, hunting, and self-sustained agriculture. For example, the ‘slash and burn’ agricultural practices, passed down from generation to generation, may be prohibited on the land.
“We, Orang Asli, always welcome and support initiatives within the environmental, social, and economic domains. However, with regard to our native customary land and the well-being of future generations, we earnestly hope that the State government will prioritize the formal gazetting of our land.
“If not, we will remain in this cycle of land rights issues, our next generation will face the same challenges. And their generations will also face the same thing.
“It’s time to put a halt to this cycle.”
All photos credit: AnnJil Chong
Top photo: Indigenous people in Pahang convened a formal meeting to urge the government to recognize their right to land ownership.
