Group calls for census of Orang Asli settlements in Pahang

An environmental group in Malaysia is urging the Pahang government to conduct a thorough census and mapping of all Orang Asli settlements within the state, including those without registration with the Orang Asli development department (Jakoa). The Pekas president, Rajesh Nagarajan, pointed out that the government's figure of 264 registered Orang Asli villages may not accurately represent the total number of communities in the state.

Pekas has cited the example of Kampung Selimbar and Kampung Sungai Cot, which are unregistered with Jakoa. The Pekas call for census comes after the Pahang ruler, Al-Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah, cautioned against using the term "customary land" arbitrarily, stating that the Aboriginal Peoples Act 1954 provides for the designation of Orang Asli Areas or Orang Asli Reserves through official gazetting.

Nagarajan emphasized that the absence of gazetting does not negate the existence of customary land rights for Orang Asli communities. He referred to a 2005 Court of Appeal ruling, which states that customary title should be determined based on customs, practices, historical occupation, and use of the land by the community in question.

Nagarajan also welcomed the sultan's call for the swift surveying, demarcation, and gazetting of Orang Asli areas, noting that the Pahang government has acknowledged that only 30 out of the 264 registered villages have been gazetted, with 16 receiving land titles, leaving 218 still without either. He emphasized that the delay in gazetting is an administrative failure, not a result of Orang Asli communities' inaction.