Orang asli in logging stand-off preparing for legal action

KUALA LUMPUR: The orang asli villagers who set up a blockade against loggers in Gua Musang are now gearing up to take the Kelantan government to court.

Their lawyer Siti Kasim said that the orang asli in Pos Tohoi and Pos Simpor have mapped the area they wish to claim and prepared evidence of their historical ancestry in the land for a civil suit against the state and the loggers.

“They want to go for it. They want this matter in court.

“We are now in discussions with the orang asli committee and they have been preparing for ages now with regard to the history and mapping. It is nearly done.

“They have to bring this to court. It doesn’t seem like the state government will want to settle this amicably,” she told The Star.

The orang asli had earlier set up two blockades in the Balah forest reserve. They claim parts of the area that was marked for deforestation by the state government.

Mentri Besar Datuk Ahmad Yakob said there was no reason for the state government to halt logging when it was licensed by the state, adding that timber was the biggest contributor to the state’s coffers.

The stand-off between the orang asli and loggers erupted in violence last week and has sparked an outcry from activists and politicians.

The Federal Government has claimed it is powerless to compel Kelantan to respect the land rights of the orang asli, despite pushing for several areas in the state to be gazetted as indigenous reserve land.

But the act of taking the state to court is only going to be the first step of a very lengthy process, said Siti, who expects the orang asli to have to endure years-long battles in court before they see any results.

“It’s not going to be that easy. The state prosecutors will raise questions like, ‘are the litigants really orang asli?’, because there are clear definitions for that.

“They will pick on minute details just to make it difficult to move this case forward and we will have to appeal and jump through many hurdles. But we must make a difference for these people,” she said.