TO Orang Asli activists in Gua Musang, Awin Pedik is a villain who sold out his own people when he allowed plantation owners to take the natives’ ancient tribal land.

But, the 64-year-old village chief said his conscience is clear because what he did was for the future of the community.

Awin came forward to tell his side of the story as Temiar activists and agribusiness companies operating in the forests of Ulu Kelantan continue to clash over land in the forest reserves of Kelantan.

The “tok batin” of Pos Bihai, a Temiar settlement in the Ulu Kelantan forest, has no regrets for his actions eight years ago, even though they have led to a bitter, drawn-out conflict that has made headlines.

“I did not deceive the villagers. I did not lie to them. They signed willingly,” Awin said of a controversial 2010 letter supporting planters’ operations near the Orang Asli villages in Pos Tohoi.

The letter signed by five Temiar tribal chiefs essentially gave the green light for 2,000ha of forest land to be handed over for use as rubber, pineapple and durian plantations.

Kelantan Indigenous Peoples Network (JKOAK) activists and their Temiar supporters in Ulu Kelantan have accused Awin of tricking the tribal chiefs into signing the letter.

They said Awin had slipped in the support letter among other documents, including one that was purportedly a letter of protest against loggers.

Trusting in Awin’s good faith, said the activists, the five chiefs had signed the entire stack of documents without realising they were also signing approval for the planters to move onto their land.

“There was no protest letter,” was Awin’s flat response yesterday to the allegations. 

Nor was there a stack of documents in which the support letter was said to have been hidden. 

“There was only the support letter, and I explained its contents to the village chiefs and everyone at the meeting so they could understand. They all signed willingly. There was no force and no deceit,” Awin told The Malaysian Insight in Kuala Lumpur.

“They said I lied to the villagers. They said I sold Orang Asli land to the plantations. These are all lies peddled by Jaringan (JKOAK).”

He also denied that he was paid off.

“I don’t even own a house, a car or land.”

‘I did it to help my brother-in law’ 

The planters have used the letter in question to back their claims to the land. They are also said to have the state government’s approval to plant latex timber clones, pineapples, and now, Musang King durians on the land.

The Orang Asli activists, however, said the land is “tanah adat”, or customary land, a term meaning land that is owned by indigenous communities, but whose rights to the land are open to conflicting interpretations of the law.

The conflict led JKOAK members to erect barricades cutting off access to the plantations, an impasse that recently came to a head with a stand-off between the Orang Asli and planters, which was shortly afterwards followed by the destruction of the blockades by unknown persons wielding chainsaws.

The activists have blamed Awin for the loss of the land, which is the source of the villagers’ food, clean water, medicines, and other essentials integral to their lifestyle, culture and religion.    

Awin, meanwhile, credited the letter to Pos Tohoi headman Rahmat Abdullah, who is also his brother-in-law.

“Rahmat came to me because I was well known for my work in the Kijang Mas cooperative in Gua Musang. I was an icon to the community.

“He asked me to help get his people jobs in the plantations. He wanted to find work for the youth.”

Awin said that was why he agreed to open negotiations with the planters, who accepted Rahmat’s ideas provided the community stated its support for their ventures.

“So, I drafted the support letter and presented it to the village chiefs. We had a 12-hour discussion that lasted from about 8pm to 8am. I urged them to discuss it among themselves.”

The letter, sighted by The Malaysian Insight, has the signatures of village chiefs Seman Senaweng, Gorbon Garyon, Abong Lehya, Anjang Akad and Rahmat.

The document states the chiefs’ support “for the company’s operations in the Pos Simpor and Pos Tohoi areas”.

In return, the plantations would provide jobs for Temiar youth, “so that they did not have to go out to urban areas to look for employment, to uplift their families’ standard of living”.   

Activists said they lodged a report with the Orang Asli Affairs Department a month after the chiefs signed the letter, claiming they had been deceived.

Awin said no one complained until three years later, when a report was lodged with Gua Musang police.

“That was about the time Jaringan was established. The group and its lawyers helped them lodge the police report.”

In the eight years since the letter was signed, the planters have kept up their end of the bargain and given Temiar youth preference when it comes to jobs.

“I am a religious man, I am not afraid of what they say about me. I did it to help the villagers and to help my brother-in-law,” said Awin. – August 19, 2018.