The first people
Indigenous people in Malaysia deserve as much recognition and the right to practise their way of life as the rest of us
ACCORDING to the United Nations website on indigenous people there are an estimated 476 million indigenous peoples in the world living across 90 countries.
The site also says, “Indigenous peoples are inheritors and practitioners of unique cultures and ways of relating to people and the environment. They have retained social, cultural, economic and political characteristics that are distinct from those of the dominant societies in which they live. Despite their cultural differences, indigenous peoples from around the world share common problems related to the protection of their rights as distinct peoples.”
The International Day of the
World’s Indigenous Peoples is commemorated on Aug 9 globally. Colin Nicholas of Centre for Orang Asli Concerns said: “[The day] is very important for indigenous people. This year celebrations will be done virtually across three different regions. There will be community programmes and cultural performances, as well as webinars.
“That day is important for indigenous people across Malaysia, the region and the world. It is a culmination of a very long struggle [over] the last 25 or 30 years to have the indigenous people recognised by the United Nations.”
In 1990, the UN General Assembly proclaimed 1993 the International Year of the World’s Indigenous Peoples. The General Assembly followed this up with two International Decades of the World’s Indigenous Peoples: the first from 1995-2004, and the second from 2005-2014.
The goal was to strengthen international cooperation for solving problems faced by indigenous peoples in areas such as human rights, the environment, development, education, health, economic and social development.
The UN will also be celebrating the Decade of Indigenous Languages between 2022-2032, a continuation of the International Year of Indigenous Languages in 2019.