Suhakam laments plans to amend Act

The Star
by SHAILA KOSHY

KUALA LUMPUR: Suhakam is disappointed that the Government is proceeding with plans to amend the Aboriginal Peoples Act without waiting for the completion of the National Inquiry into the Land Rights of Indigenous Peoples by the middle of next year.

Chairman Tan Sri Hasmy Agam said it had asked the Government to delay tabling any amendment pending the conclusion of the inquiry.

“We urge the Government again to defer the process of finalising any new policies and legislation with regard to the customary land of the orang asli for submission to the Cabinet and the National Land Council until all efforts have been made to obtain free, prior and informed consent from all stakeholders, especially the affected orang asli,” he said.

Hasmy said this in response to the Aug 16 announcement by the Department for the Development of Orang Asli that it had concluded discussions with all state governments on the policy to grant land titles to orang asli and would take it up to Cabinet and later to the NLC.

The Star had reported Malaysian Bar president Lim Chee Wee as saying that it had received grievances from many orang asli over the department's announcement, suggesting that the Government had once again failed to consult them in finalising the policy.

Hasmy said Suhakam had in its 2008 annual report reminded the Government of its fiduciary obligation to consult and obtain consent from native communities prior to taking action that might infringe on their native title rights.

He said this was consistent with the UN Declaration on the Rights of the Indigenous Peoples, which Malaysia had committed to uphold.

“Also, the Federal Constitution and relevant court decisions recognise and uphold the status of orang asli and their land rights as well as the special relationship between these communities and their land,” he said.

He added that recognition of and protection for native title was also required as part of the constitutional right to livelihood.