Key facts
- Over 1,000 Orang Asli rallied in Putrajaya, Malaysia, demanding ancestral land rights.
- Protesters called for an end to evictions and development on their territories.
- The rally targeted Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
- Recent evictions, harassment, and arrests of Orang Asli communities were highlighted.
- Civil society groups urged the government to implement free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC) for land development.
More than 1,000 Orang Asli, the indigenous people of Peninsular Malaysia, gathered in Putrajaya to protest for the recognition of their ancestral land rights and an end to evictions and development on their territories. The demonstration, which saw participants wearing traditional headgear and carrying protest signs, targeted Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who oversees relevant ministries.
Recent incidents in February highlighted the urgency of the issue, with several Orang Asli communities facing eviction, harassment, police arrests, and the removal of anti-logging blockades. Civil society organizations have documented cases including evictions in Terengganu, detentions in Pahang, concerns over a planned port expansion in Selangor, and the removal of blockades in Kelantan.
These organizations emphasize that Orang Asli communities often claim they were not adequately consulted or did not provide consent for developments on their ancestral lands. They are calling for the Prime Minister to uphold Orang Asli rights, implement free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC) effectively, and halt amendments to the Orang Asli Act 1954 until legal recognition of customary land is included. Concerns have also been raised about the transparency and process of the current amendment to the Act, with activists stating that draft proposals were not made available to stakeholders in a timely manner.