LOGGING in tribal lands should be reviewed and discussed before work is carried out, said Senator Manolan Mohamad who represents the Orang Asli in the Dewan Negara.

Putrajaya must be more transparent and hold dialogues with natives before carrying out such works, as their livelihoods are affected, he said.

“The government needs to have dialogue, consultation and must be transparent with the information provided to indigenous people. Discussions with the OA must be conducted before logging is carried out,” the PKR senator, who is Orang Asli himself, said in a forum live-streamed titled Orang Asli speak: facing post-MCO challenges.

He was referring to logging at the Air Chepam forest reserve in northeast Perak during the forum on Facebook organised by the Centre for Orang Asli Concerns (COAC).

The Malaysian Insight reported yesterday that a logging company returned with bulldozers and tractors to cut down trees and clear land in the Air Chepam forest reserve near a Temiar village at Kg Sg Papan.

Villagers and local activists said loggers returned after the Perak government changed hands after the collapse of Pakatan Harapan at the federal level and takeover by Perikatan Nasional. 

They said the loggers are from the same company that tried to breach their forest last year. 

Manolan told the online forum that logging causes huge impact on the Orang Asli because their forest sources for food and water are badly affected. 

“Their water sources are polluted and their source of income is also affected because they depend on these forests. 

“So, when the forest is invaded and logging takes place, it has a huge impact on the Orang Asli.”

The Temiar in the area are claiming 42ha as part of their ancestral land and have opposed attempts to log it.

Perak, even under PH, said the concept of “customary land” did not exist in the state’s law, although the PH government moved to gazette other land as Orang Asli reserve.

Soon after PN’s takeover, Malaysia went into the movement-control order (MCO) to curb the spread of Covid-19.

The online webinar also discussed how the Orang Asli were affected by the MCO which put a stop to almost all economic activities, leading to loss of jobs and daily wages. – June 19, 2020.