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Amendment to give orang asli better protectionby SIM LEOI LEOI PUTRAJAYA (Friday, 18 April): Orang asli communities will have better protection against companies trying to exploit or manipulate them for financial gain or to obtain their land under a new proposal. Rural Development Minister Datuk Azmi Khalid said the National Advisory Council on Orang Asli had proposed that penalties on errant companies and individuals who cheat the communities be enhanced under the Orang Asli Act. The present RMI,000 fine for cheating under this Act would be increased to RMIO,000 under the proposal. Azmi said the council had received many complaints that the community was being cheated out of their land for development by firms without receiving much social or financial benefits at the end of the day. "Of the around 800 orang asil communities in the country, 448 have land which are now situated on the edge of towns or near cities, especially in highly developed states like Selangor, Perak and Johor. Pretty soon Kedah and Pahang will also face similar problems. "Their land is now worth a lot of money because these are strategic places. The council has proposed that the Orang Asli Act be amended to enhance penalties on errant companies and individuals who cheat the communities. "However, we must be mindful of the fact that although this amendment will be passed at federal level, it is still up to the states to gazette it and ultimately, put into practice." Azmi said after chairing the council meeting at his office yesterday. He said some of the firms wanting to develop the land failed to seek approval from the Orang Asli Affairs Department and in some cases the financial gains were not balanced in favour of the communities. "This put some states in a dilemma because they want to develop the land but not at the expense of the orang asli communities,' he said. At present, there are 18,000ha of orang asli reserve land in the country while applications have been received by the department to develop another 29,000ha. The proposal, said Azmi, would he brought to the Cabinet for discussion and that, hopefully. it could be tabled for approval in Parliament in September. |
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18 April 2003
MTC’s
