Tasek Bera community rejects claims of syndicate-backed land clearing, encroachment
BERA: The Tasek Bera Orang Asli community has rejected claims that outsiders were manipulating them to carry out illegal land clearing near the lake.
The Tasek Bera Orang Asli community has refuted allegations of being influenced by syndicates to clear land near the lake. The Semelai tribe's Tok Batin and the Semelai Bera Customary Council jointly stated that they have occupied the area for a long time and deny claims of encroaching on the forest reserve. The community emphasized that their customary land has nothing to do with any syndicates.
The UPNP head, Saifullah Muhammad Ali, reported that over 7,000 hectares of forest reserve had been cleared for oil palm, rubber, and cash crops. The authorities suspect that illegal syndicates are exploiting the Orang Asli's name for illegal land encroachment. The community's main concern is the threat to their living space around the lake, which is essential for gathering forest produce, plants, traditional medicinal materials, hunting, crop cultivation, and ancestral knowledge.
The area around the lake is shrinking due to the expansion of large-scale plantations, including Felda, private companies, state subsidiaries, and logging activities. Despite being accused of encroaching on the area, the community stated that they have never prevented UPNP from entering their settlements and have only requested prior notification and consultation.
The Orang Asli villagers near the lake are seeking negotiations with authorities after receiving notices in June to vacate parts of the forest reserve. Enforcement agencies, including UPNP, have been conducting land-surveying operations in the permanent forest reserve since September 14.
Written by urgent.news from New Straits Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
