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‘We’re not going anywhere’: indigenous people in Malaysia rally for land rights

PressNewsAgency
By PressNewsAgency

More than 1,000 Orang Asli, the indigenous people of Peninsular Malaysia, rallied outside a federal ministry in Putrajaya on Friday in a rare mass protest to demand recognition of their ancestral land and an end to evictions and development on their territories.

Many wore traditional headgear as they marched through Malaysia’s administrative capital, carrying signs reading “Orang Asli are not immigrants”, “Respect the Orang Asli right to self-determination” and “Our voices will not be silenced”.

Organisers said the crowd represented 19 tribes and communities.

The Orang Asli number more than 225,000 but remain a small minority in the Muslim-majority country, where land is largely controlled by state governments and many customary territories remain vulnerable when communities lack formal title.

Orang Asli march to Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s office to present their demands on Friday. Photo: Iman Muttaqin Yusof

The demonstration targeted Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who also oversees the Rural and Regional Development Ministry and the Department of Orang Asli Development (Jakoa).

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