KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 11 — Citing decades of neglect, DAP parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang called today for peninsular Malaysia’s indigenous people to be accorded a “special position” on par with Malays and the natives of Sabah and Sarawak.
He said the “special position”, which provides affirmative action programmes for the Malays should also be extended to the non-Malay Bumiputera who are in need.
“In this respect, I would like to point out that Malaysia’s first and original Bumiputeras, the Orang Asli, have long been neglected since Merdeka in 1957 — nearly 60 years ago.
“They have been here for thousands of years, yet they were and are still being treated unfairly by the authorities. In terms of privileges, that no one is more deserving than the Orang Asli communities to be given such a special position,” he said in a statement.
The Federal Constitution accords a “special position” for Malays and the natives of Sabah and Sarawak to safeguard their community interests in regards to certain fields such as educational scholarships, public service, training and land reserve rights. However, it is silent on the Orang Asli and does not explicitly mention Bumiputera rights.
The Gelang Patah MP cited from the 2010 census that recorded a total of 178,197 Orang Asli in the country and noted there is a Department of Orang Asli Development (JAKOA) to oversee their welfare and to carry out developmental programmes in line with national policies, including the Bumiputera enhancement National Economic Policy.
However, he expressed scepticism that the Orang Asli received “a fair deal from the government” from the programmes.
“Despite all these measures, Orang Asli are still treated with contempt and malice, as if they are strangers in their own land, as shown in the recent sad episode in Gua Musang in Kelantan where 47 Orang Asli were detained by police merely for erecting barriers to protect their land,” he said.
He called for a “New Deal” to revamp the government’s past initiatives to uplift the Orang Asli and bring them into the mainstream of national development.
“For a start, we need an Orang Asli to head JAKOA — regardless of his or her religion, or political affiliation,” he said.
The Opposition lawmaker also called for the civil service to be overhauled to appoint and promote the Orang Asli into senior positions of public service and not just limited to areas concerning their people’s development.
