PETALING JAYA: The Pahang state government will request the Orang Asli development department (Jakoa), the Pahang land and mines office (PTG), and the land and district office to review assistance to resolve the land dispute issues of the Orang Asli community in Kampung Sungai Cot, Maran.
State Islamic religious affairs, rural development and Orang Asli affairs committee chairman Syed Ibrahim Syed Ahmad said the issue would be handled prudently, based on the law and through consultation to find the best solution for the benefit of all parties, Bernama reported.
“The Pahang state government wishes to clarify that the allegations regarding the land dispute issue associated with the Orang Asli community in Kampung Sungai Cot, Maran, are not as depicted by certain parties,” he said in a statement today.
He said 12 Orang Asli villagers were cultivating the land in the area based on a written claim to Jakoa, but the land was approved for a company at the 32nd state executive council meeting on Nov 4, 2015.
Syed Ibrahim said Jakoa had held a series of discussions with the involved Orang Asli representatives to find a solution to the overlapping claims between them and the company given the land.
“The initial discussions found that only six named people are still pursuing claims through Jakoa. In that discussion, the claimants alleged that the area in question was their ancestral land, but the claim could not be verified by the relevant authorities based on existing records and facts,” he said.
On Friday, some of the affected Orang Asli villagers had gone to the residence of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to seek his assistance to release three of their men detained by police during the land dispute. He said he would also raise the matter with the Pahang government as land disputes come under their jurisdiction.
Earlier today, the Tengku Ampuan of Pahang had invited the Orang Asli in Kampung Sungai Cot, displaced by the ongoing land dispute, to live on her land in Kuala Wau, expressing her concern over their future.
Syed Ibrahim said Pahang now has 264 Orang Asli villages with over 90,000 registered residents, including 30 villages that have been gazetted under Section 6 and Section 7 of the Orang Asli Act 1954 and Section 62 of the National Land Code.
“The state government also approved the granting of land ownership to the Orang Asli community in 16 villages under Section 76 of the National Land Code.”
Syed Ibrahim also said that 75 applications for land gazettement for the Orang Asli community are being processed, with 31 applications completed for consideration by the state executive council,. Another 44 applications involving land overlaps are undergoing resolution.
“At the same time, 143 more applications are at the initial measurement stage by Jakoa,” he added.
