SOME countries move from relatively democratic systems to more authoritarian ones such as Malaysia in the 1970s. Others from authoritarianism toward democracy. What can the experiences of these other countries tell us about where we go from GE13? And what choices lie ahead of those who want change?
orang asal
Violence against Penan: How the government ignores indigenous rights
THE phenomenon of indigenous women like the Penan being violated is not peculiar to Malaysia. Indeed, there are parallels in other countries, including a developed nation like the US. In their 2007 report, Maze of Injustice: The failure to protect indigenous women from sexual violence in the USA, Amnesty International (AI) reported that indigenous women […]
JHEOA involved in Orang Asli conversion
Colin Nicholas PETALING JAYA, 4 May 2010: The Jabatan Hal Ehwal Orang Asli (JHEOA) has been involved in the Islamisation of Orang Asli for decades, said Centre for Orang Asli Concerns coordinator Dr Colin Nicholas. “One of JHEOA‘s main objective is to convert Orang Asli to Islam. They don’t say it openly but their budget […]
BN’s commitment to indigenous rights
“We open our ears to whatever grouses the public, in particular the Orang Asli, have. If anyone says we are depriving them, we are neglecting them, that’s not true.” RURAL and Regional Development Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal, speaking to reporters after receiving a memorandum from the Orang Asli protesting proposed changes to the […]
Giving Orang Asli land
Corrected at 12.50pm, 22 April 2010 Members of the Orang Asli community in Kampung Chang, Bidor, protesting for their land rights (File pic) “TANAH kami, maruah kami,” said banners at an Orang Asli protest in Putrajaya recently against changes to the policy affecting their land rights. Just three months ago, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri […]
Orang Asli Hospital not fulfilling role
KUALA LUMPUR, 22 Mar 2010: A hospital set up by the British to serve the Orang Asli in Gombak is not fulfilling its objectives in part because most of its patients are non-Orang Asli. Dr Selva Vathany Kanapathi Pillai, recently transferred out of the hospital after publicly voicing her concerns, told The Nut Graph that […]
Land rights key to survival
THE problems the Penan and other indigenous communities face can sometimes seem overwhelming and complicated. In this interview with The Nut Graph conducted via e-mail in late September 2009, Koh Lay Chin speaks to anthropologist Kelvin Egay, whom she met while visiting the Orang Ulu in Sarawak. She asks Egay, who has researched these communities […]
Outraged by inaction over plight of Orang Asal
FOLLOWING the release of the task force report confirming allegations of sexual abuse of Penan women and girls, we greet Malaysia’s 46th birthday with a renewed sense of outrage. We are gravely disturbed not only over the Penan girls and women whose rights were violated, but also over how their situation reflects the overall state […]
Friend of the forest
WHEN we think about the logging industry, it’s not usually in a flattering light. Logging, especially in East Malaysia, has a reputation for being fraught with unethical practices: corruption, unsustainable destruction of ecosystems, and disregard for the land rights of indigenous peoples. Last year, allegations of sexual abuse of Penan women and schoolgirls in Baram […]
Anwar says takeover plan still on
SHAH ALAM, 30 Nov 2008: Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has reiterated that the plan to take over the federal government was still in the pipeline. PKR’s top leaders stood up for the party song “God willing, we will be going to Putrajaya (to meet Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi) very soon,” […]
