State govt has 'no business' on Orang Asli land

By Stephanie Sta Maria - Free Malaysia Today

KUALA LANGAT: Just when it appeared to have died down, the illegal sand mining fisaco in Selangor has reared its head once again.
Selangor opposition chief Mohd Khir Toyo claimed that RM220 million ringgit worth of sand has been excavated illegally in Kampung Bukit Changgang in Dengkil.
Selangor Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim has rubbished these allegations and said the mining area is not in Bukit Changgang as reported by the dailies but in Kampung Olak Lempit in Kuala Langat.

He added that the permit was issued by the Kuala Langat district office in January this year to state-owned Kumpulan Semesta Sdn Bhd (KSSB).

While it seems that its Khalid and Khir who have locked horns over the matter, the real war is being waged by the Orang Asli community there against the state government.

Kampung Olak Lempit falls under the vicinity of Mukim Tanjung 12 which has been gazetted as Orang Asli land by the Federation of Malay States in 1927. As far as the Orang Asli are concerned, the state government has no right to conduct any business there.

“This land is not state sanctioned,” Dewi Malam said angrily. “It belongs to the Orang Asli so we don't care whether KSSB has a permit or not. It shouldn't even be here in the first place. If anyone is mining here, it should be us!”

60-year-old Dewi is a respresentative of the Tok Batin in Kampung Pulau Kempas, one of the seven villages in Mukim Tanjung 12. He is also one of the many Orang Asli who are livid with the state government for encroaching on their land.

“By stealing our sand and land, they are also stealing our source of income,” he raged. “How can the government issue an open tender on a piece of land that doesn't even belong to them in the first place and then not include its rightful owners in the tendering process.”
Deal reneged
According to a source familiar with the sand mining on-goings there, the Orang Asli are also furious at KSSB for breaking a joint venture deal with them.

“KSSB and the Orang Asli were in talks to form a joint venture to carry out sand mining in the area,” he explained. “It would have been a good source of income which they would have used to raise their standard of living.”

“But when KSSB received the permit, it hired its own contractors and completely cut out the Orang Asli from the business. Then KSSB put their 'bodyguards' in place to keep the Orang Asli away from its mines.”

He also said that KSSB soon realised that the sand on its legitimate site wasn't enough to sustain long-term operations and proceeded to expand its operations to plots around it. This further angered the Orang Asli further who tried to reclaim their land but to no avail.

“The state government is fully aware that of the land's gazetted status,” he claimed. “The Orang Asli have written a letter to Khalid, complete with the documentation to prove that the land belongs to them.”

He further alleged that Khalid had forwarded this letter to Selangor executive councillor Yaakop Sapari for further action but none was taken.

Yaakop, who is the exco for agrivulture modernisation, natural resources management and entrepreneurial development, yesterday demanded an apology from four dailies for carrying 'slanderous reports' on sand mining activities in Dengkil.

To the Orang Asli, however, the only slanderous reports are those that justify the sand mining activities there.

“The real question shouldn't be whether the sand mining here is legal or not,” Dewi pointed out. “It should be why the state government is getting away with using gazetted Orang Asli land to fill its own pockets.”