A GOVERNMENT is doomed to fail when it ignores and tramples at will the fundamental rights of its people. Worse still when the people concerned are economically marginalised, lack political representation, lack access to infrastructure and social services, lack life’s basic essentials and comfort, are discriminated against, and are often malnourished.

Such is the case of the Kg Tasik Cunex Orang Asli community in Gerik.

Perak Menteri Besar Ahmad Faizal Azumu does not recognise the customary land rights of the indigenous people, and said they have no right to put up a blockade to stop logging on their ancestral land. He is ignorant of the fact that the courts have recognised the common law rights of Orang Asli to land they traditionally inhabit.

Pleadings and appeals by the Kg Tasik Cunex Orang Asli, that extensive logging will destroy the environment, pollute rivers, and deprive them of clean water and their traditional hunting grounds, have fallen on deaf ears. This is similar to the case in Kelantan, where the PAS state government did not recognise the ancestral land of the Temiar group in Gua Musang, and Putrajaya, through Attorney-General Tommy Thomas, had to sue the state government.

Faizal’s contention is that the state government has not alienated the land to the Orang Asli. Just because land issues are under the jurisdiction of the state, it does not mean that the state government has absolute right over ownership of all land. Surely the menteri besar should know there is such a thing as customary land rights where there have been ancestral presence and land usage.

Even if Faizal thinks that he is right, he should not have taken a hard approach to a helpless and underprivileged group. Right or wrong is for the courts to decide, as well as determine the limits of the state government’s power pertaining to this case.

Common sense does not seem to be common for Faizal. Perhaps, the Perak government sees the Orang Asli as insignificant because they contribute little or nothing to gross national product (GNP). Or perhaps, to these politicians, trees and logs make for good and easy income. Extracting timber, and selling land, too, are easy income generators requiring no head-cracking job. It is simple – no need to think, and no need to work hard and have novel ideas on how to earn income for state coffers.

The simplicity of the mind was reflected when the menteri besar stated that jobs would be lost if logging activities were to stop. There are 101 ways jobs can be created, and therefore, increase GNP and national income.

If the menteri besar and his administration are still unaware, education should be the primary focus in order to raise GNP in the long term. When the people are well educated, their propensity to earn a higher income increases. The aggregate of all jobs, including high-paying ones, services and economic goods will add to GNP and national income.

Apply that on a national scale, with a higher education level and a broadside higher per capita income, and our country will be lifted from the current middle-income trap to a high-income nation.

It goes without saying that Orang Asli children need help most in education. Better education for these children will raise income and their standard of living in the future. The Perak menteri besar should ask himself how much he has done for the Orang Asli pertaining to education. Or, is it that he is most concerned about extracting timber in his expected short tenure?

The Orang Asli community, although handicapped in so many aspects, can provide lessons to many a politician. Their lives are simple, and they count on the blessings of not abundance, but what is enough for the day, in contrast to the insatiable hunger for wealth, a trait common among those who hold power, and absolute power.

The Orang Asli know how to care, protect and live in symbiosis with the environment they are in, unlike those who reap and plunder the easiest target, like the trees that do not speak back.

Depriving the Kg Tasik Cunex community of access to the jungle and natural habitat is like taking away their fundamental rights. The issue at hand is not complex. An amicable solution should have been adopted over a rigid stand. A government that cannot solve such a minor issue is doomed to fail in its overall governance of the state. – May 30, 2019.

* Captain Dr Wong Ang Peng is a researcher with an interest in economics, politics, and health issues. He has a burning desire to do anything within his means to promote national harmony. Captain Wong is also a member of the National Patriots Association.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.