PUTRAJAYA will step in to ease tension and provide an amicable solution to the ongoing stand-off between villagers and loggers in Gerik, Perak, said the head of the federal Orang Asli agency.

Orang Asli Development Department (Jakoa) director-general Professor Dr Juli Edo told The Malaysian Insight only a political solution provided by the government can solve the issue between the two parties.

“This process needs a political solution because it’s complicated,” he said.

“If we follow administrative measures, we then have to follow the general order of the law and that is not an easy process,” he said.

Juli said there were many intricate details to take into consideration when dealing with the issue but the government will step in and find a way forward.

“I am going to have a meeting soon with National Unity Minister P Waythamoorthy and we will see what steps can be taken,” he said.

Villagers in Cunex in Gerik have been in a stand-off with loggers since February, erecting a blockade every evening to stop the latter from entering the jungle.

However, the blockade is removed each morning and the process repeats itself every day.

The blockades are demolished with the support of the Perak government. Menteri Besar Ahmad Faizal Azumu said the land had not been gazetted as customary land and as such belonged to the state.

However, Juli believes the Orang Asli in Gerik do have a claim to the land even though according to the law, it is government land and logging can be carried out.

He said before the federal constitution was created, Orang Asli enjoyed a claim to Malay reserve land. However, once the constitution was drafted and they did not fall into the definition of a Malay person, they had immediately lost all their rights to claim the land.

Juli, who is Jakoa’s first ever Orang Asli DG, said the natives have their rights and deserve equal treatment.

“I am not just saying this because I am one of them but they deserve equal treatment. They are not asking for land in the city, they just want their land to be left alone.”

Juli also said that although the villagers could take legal measures, they were not the best route at the moment.

“It will cost a lot of money and takes a lot of time. We want an expedient solution to this matter,” he said.

In an earlier case of Sagong Tasi v Selangor, a precedent was set in favour of the Orang Asli, where the courts ruled the Orang Asli had customary rights over the land even though states had ownership and jurisdiction.

In the case of the stand-off in Cunex, Ahmad Faizal has blamed the Orang Asli for their predicament.

The 26 families affected had moved out from a resettlement programme in early 2017 and “encroached” into the Air Cepam forest reserve belonging to the state, he said.

Their move took place after an apparent misunderstanding with the chief of another village. – June 3, 2019.