BY LOH FOON FONG
PETALING JAYA: State authorities will be asked to put decisions on land affecting indigenous people on hold should the Cabinet approve the recommendations of a special task force.
The task force, set up to review the Human Rights Commission’s report on the National Inquiry into the Land Rights of Indigenous People, also recommended that state authorities refer to a master list on traditional land ownership before making land decisions.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Paul Low said the Cabinet would make its decision in a week or two.
Asked if all 18 recommendations by Suhakam would be endorsed, he said it was not necessary because the issues were complex and many things had to be taken into account.
“The Cabinet has considered and reviewed all recommendations,” he told The Star.
He also said that there was no need for it to be tabled in Parliament.
“When the Cabinet approves it, we will then decide on the mechanism, framework and monitoring system to implement the recommendations,” he said.
Among the difficult issues that would be addressed included defining customary land and balancing national interest with justice for the indigenous people, said Low.
The task force also recommended that the communal land concept, apart from individual titles, be granted to orang asli and their land that had been identified to be reserved and gazetted.
It urged that a comprehensive study be carried out on the concept of “pegangan adat”(orang asal/asli traditions on land ownership and practices) before any law or policy was amended.
On Suhakam’s call for a redress mechanism, the task force had recommended that legal assistance be given to all cases involving such land.
In 2010, Suhakam conducted the inquiry following numerous complaints and memoranda from the indigenous community on the violation of their human rights, especially on customary land rights.
The Suhakam report was released in August 2013.
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