KUANTAN, July 21 — The Pahang state government will request the Department of Orang Asli Development (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 Datuk Seri Syed Ibrahim Syed Ahmad said the issue will be handled prudently, based on the law, and through a consultative approach to find the best solution for the benefit of all parties.

“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 yesterday.

In the statement, he said 12 Orang Asli individuals were cultivating the land in the area based on a written claim to Jakoa, but the land was also approved for a company through the decision of the 32nd State Executive Council (MMK) on Nov 4, 2015.

Meanwhile, Syed Ibrahim said Jakoa has held a series of discussions with the involved Orang Asli representatives to find a solution to the overlapping claims between them and the company that has received the approval.

“The initial discussions found that only six named individuals are still pursuing claims through the Jakoa. In that discussion session, the involved 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.

Meanwhile, he 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 involving 16 villages under Section 76 of the National Land Code,” he said.

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 MMK Meeting, while 44 applications involving land overlaps are undergoing resolution.

“At the same time, 143 more applications are at the initial measurement stage by the Jakoa,” he added. — Bernama