TWO Pahang DAP lawmakers have formed a new committee to help the Semelai Orang Asli of Kg Lubuk Perah in Bera, Pahang fight for their ancestral lands.

Bentong MP Wong Tak and Raub MP Tengku Zulpuri Shah Raja Puji said the Orang Asli’s fight for their ancestral land has been ongoing since former Pahang Menteri Besar Adnan Yaakob was in power.

“We will continue to help the Semelai Orang Asli in Kampung Lubuk Perah to fight for their ancestral and foraging lands,” Wong and Tengku Zulpuri said in a statement.

“This matter has been going on for more than seven years, since the days of Adnan Yaakob. It was also discussed at the Pahang state assembly last year. 

“The state government has not held an honest discussion with the Orang Asli here, instead they have pawned 365.5ha of land to the subsidiary of Sri Jengka,” they said, referring to the company that has cleared Orang Asli land for palm oil cultivation.

Wong and Tengku Zulpuri said that there is proof that the Orang Asli have been living on the land for hundreds of years.

“When the British were fighting the Japanese more than 150 years ago, the community was moved to several areas in Bera.

“When the occupation ended, the Orang Asli moved back to their original village around Tasik Bera to continue their lives.

“The state government should give priority to the lives of the Orang Asli who are a minority and number less than 200,000 of Malaysia’s 30 million people,” they said.

In February, the High Court in Temerloh allowed Sri Jengka’s parent company, Elite Agriculture Sdn Bhd, to clear the land in Bera for oil palm cultivation.

Elite Agriculture initiated a civil action to obtain repossession of the plot in question on October 9 last year.

Following the high court’s decision, village head, Hajemi Din, along with Manap Sayang and Rusman Abu, are suing Sri Jengka Sdn Bhd, Elite Agriculture Sdn Bhd, the Pahang Land Office director, the Pahang government, the federal government, and the director-general of the state Orang Asli Development Department (Jakoa) for intrusion and encroachment on their ancestral land.

The Semelai tribe have been living in Kg Lubuk Perah and in the surrounding areas, estimated to be 2,214.5ha in size, since the time of their ancestors, and that the land is their source of income and a sacred place.

They claimed that the whole plot is their customary land, owned and inhabited by their ancestors and inherited by the plaintiffs until today. 

They are also seeking an order from the court that the rights given to Sri Jengka and Elite Agriculture be declared null and void, thus preventing them from trespassing. – April 1, 2021.