PETALING JAYA: An environmental group is pushing for positive discrimination for the Orang Asli following calls for the community to be constitutionally recognised and granted safeguards and affirmative action measures similar to those of other indigenous groups.
Peka president Rajesh Nagarajan said Article 8(5)(c) of the Federal Constitution stipulates the reservation of land and positions in public service for natives.
However, he said the Orang Asli were treated like foreigners in their own land. He also said that their land had been seized and the community left with nothing, “completely unable to fend for themselves”.
“We demand that the government return all land belonging to the Orang Asli and for state governments to declare that the Orang Asli permanently own all land that they are occupying,” Rajesh, a vocal advocate for Orang Asli rights, said in a statement.
Rajesh’s statement comes a day after the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) called for Article 153 of the Federal Constitution to be amended to explicitly recognise the Orang Asli as entitled to the same constitutional safeguards and affirmative action measures as other indigenous groups.
Suhakam said such recognition was essential to ensuring that the rights, identity, and entitlements of the Orang Asli were no longer subject to administrative ambiguity or exclusion.
It also said the amendment was in line with its call to develop and implement a comprehensive national action plan to safeguard the rights of indigenous peoples.
