THE Perak government allowed the demolition of an Orang Asli blockade on state land in Kg Tasik Cunex, Gerik as the area involved is not recognised as indigenous land, Menteri Besar Ahmad Faizal Azumu said.

Calling the blockade “illegal”, he said Orang Asli residents in the village were already issued notices to remove the blockade in early April.

“We took into account all complaints and legal considerations before we made the decision,” he said in a statement today.

The blockade was put up months ago after a group of Orang Asli objected against logging activities in the Air Cepam forest reserve.

The logging company had been given approval to cut trees on two lots measuring 42ha and 38ha in the forest, but the Orang Asli claimed the logging would cause pollution in the water catchment area.

The logging areas are about 2km away from the Orang Asli reserve land in the Dala resettlement scheme, and between 4km and 5km from Kg Tasik Cunex.

Faizal said the state had checked the Orang Asli’s claims that the logging area was on their traditional land but found that it was not true.

“We checked. The government has yet to recognise the area as traditional Orang Asli land.”

The logging company involved had removed the blockade once without informing the authorities leading to protests and a human barricade by the Orang Asli.

“A certain civil society group sensationalised the issue, claiming that loggers had bullied the Orang Asli. Separate police reports were lodged by the people and the company,” he said, adding that investigations are still ongoing.

Faizal said the authorities had tried diplomacy to solve the issue from the beginning, even having Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Senator P. Waythamoorthy visit Kg Tasik Cunex to negotiate a solution in February.

Faizal said representatives from the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) and from the Orang Asli Development Department had also visited the 12,465ha site the Orang Asli claimed as their traditional land in April.

“The AGC is still considering the application,” he said.

He also denied claims that the authorities had threatened the Orang Asli with weapons when escorting the logging company to send food to loggers in March.

“Investigations have proven the claims to be baseless. The authorities were armed for safety purposes, not to threaten the people,” he said. – May 16, 2019.