ORANG Asli residents of the Pos Pasik settlement in Kelantan are demanding compensation from the state over claims that overlogging has contaminated Sungai Temer, their primary water source.

They said soil has been flowing into the river in Gua Musang because of upstream logging.

Pos Pasik village security and safety committee chief Jimi Arifin said the residents depend on the river for bathing, fishing, and drinking water.

“The river water has turned murky from soil flowing from upstream logging, and we believe it is now contaminated,” he said.

Jimi added that the river is also the main source of water for farming and the lifestyle activities of the Temiar tribe.

He said logging began just a month ago and it was already causing the river water to become murky and unfit for consumption.

“The situation is quite worrisome. We have no place to go as this is our ancestral land.”

Jimi asked for a plan to preserve the Orang Asli habitat rather than allowing it to be destroyed by development.

Pos Pasik Orang Asli network representative Aznan Siam said logging is causing long-term damage to the environment.

He said the oil palm and rubber trees replacing the forest lack the strong roots to prevent flash floods and mudflows.

“Their roots are not secure enough to hold excess water in the ground so the runoff pace is faster, leading to flash floods,” said Aznan.

“There is a need for a permanent solution to the Orang Asli’s plight.”

An Orang Asli activist, who declined to be named, said Kelantan must find ways to allow development to coexist with the Orang Asli way of life.

“The long-term consequences of clearing land for commercial farming or new infrastructure require a referendum from the community in Gua Musang first,” the activist said.

Gua Musang, the largest of Kelantan’s 11 districts, is also the least developed. However, due to the growing demand for green farming and traditional oil palm and rubber plantations, the district has seen substantial land clearing in the past decade.

It began under former menteri besar Datuk Paduka Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat, but the pace has since picked up, the activist said. – August 11, 2024.