Where do we go from here?

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Where do we go from here?

AT its 61st session, seven years ago, the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted a draft resolution sponsored by Belgium, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Hungary, Latvia, Nicaragua, Peru, Portugal, Slovenia, and Spain. That resolution relates to the Rights of Indigenous Peoples everywhere. Officially, it is called the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of the Indigenous Peoples (UNRIP).

This document was released for distribution to member countries of the UN on Sept 12, 2007.

There are 46 articles in this Declaration, two of which are of direct relevance to the Indigenous groups of Malaysia: the Orang Asli in the Peninsula, the Natives of Sarawak and the Natives of Sabah.

Article 25 proclaims: “Indigenous peoples have the right to maintain and strengthen their spiritual relationship with their traditionally owned or otherwise occupied and used lands, territories, waters and coastal seas and other resources and to uphold their responsibilities to future generations in this regard.”

Article 26 proclaims the following:

1. Indigenous peoples have the right to the lands, territories, and resources which they have traditionally owned, occupied, or otherwise used or acquired.

2. Indigenous peoples have the right to own, use, develop, and control the lands, territories, and resources that they possess by reason of traditional ownership or traditional occupation or sue, as well as those which they have otherwise acquired.

3. States shall give legal recognition and protection to these lands, territories and resources. Such recognition shall be conducted with due respect to the customs, traditions, and tenure systems of the indigenous peoples concerned.”

A very important document. Don’t you agree? The minority ethnic groups in any country regard this as their charter that will sustain their very survival. Unfortunately, it is often ignored by countries where the majority ethnic groups have the monopoly of power, political or military. From the latter’s perspective, the minority groups will be useful only for tourism purposes – their colourful dresses and cultural dances should be as original as possible.

In Sabah and Sarawak, their men are good as tree-fellers and de-barkers only and when they but ask for better pay, then workers from other countries are recruited because these foreigners can easily be managed and are prepared to take home less. Never mind if they are illegally employed.

This charter of the indigenous people, say in Sarawak and in Sabah, does not get the attention it deserves by our political elite, especially those walking the corridors of power. They are too busy preparing for the next election, never mind the next generations.

For the past 25 years, it has been the international NGOs that have bothered to fight for this Declaration of Rights of the Indigenous Peoples. When those local NGOs participated in the campaign, they were treated like Enemy Number One by certain Malaysian leaders.

Sabah and Sarawak have each produced diplomats, even foreign ministers. We hope that they will solve the conundrum: why, if having adopted the UN Declaration on the Rights of the Indigenous Peoples, hasn’t the government announced that legislation would follow and that the principles of the articles referred to above will be incorporated therein?

Why the reluctance to discuss this important issue which affects the rights of your own people? I cannot understand this elegant silence!

Our Members of Parliament from Sabah and Sarawak should initiate discussion of this subject in Parliament lah.

In the case of Sarawak, a good number of cases of disputes over land ownership have been decided by the courts even by the apex Court of Appeal that Pemakai menoa and pulau galau are part and parcel of the Native Customary Rights or NCR; these are the “lands, territories and resources that they (the Indigenous people) possess by reason of traditional ownership or their traditional occupation or use, as well as  those that they have otherwise acquired”, to quote UNRIP again.

When will all the appeals be disposed off? And at what expense to the taxpayers?

In July this year, I was invited by the Human Rights Commission to a briefing on their Second Universal Periodic Review (UPR).

I shall quote their report here because the general public know very little about this important matter.

UPR states: “On situation of indigenous people: Malaysia continues to take steps to better protect and respect the human rights of its indigenous population. Towards this end, Suhakam had undertaken an independent National Inquiry into the Land Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the findings and recommendations of which were submitted to the government in August 2013.”

A lot of water has flowed under the bridge since August last year. What’s the outcome?

Suhakam also reports, “Currently, a Task Force, comprising senior government officials, civil society representatives and academicians are in the process of determining, inter alia, details on which recommendations can be implemented in the short, medium, long term.” It adds, “the Government is committed to ensure that the report would be reviewed in a balanced and positive manner and takes into account the best interests of Malaysia’s indigenous peoples” – page 8, ‘Government’s Position and Responses to Recommendations Received during Malaysia’s Second UPR – Kuching’, July 16, 2014.

UPR continues, “The Task Force’s recommendations would be the platform for the formulation of a blueprint for the proposed reforms of indigenous land and policies once approved by the cabinet. As the government does not wish to prejudge the outcome of the Task Force’s deliberations, Malaysia is unable to accept these recommendations at this juncture.”

With reference to the task force referred to above, I was told on Wednesday by a member of the task force present at the forum for the ambassadors from European Union countries that the civil society representatives boycotted the meeting because they alleged that the proposed reforms did not include their proposals and would not be a balanced one, certainly not fair to the indigenous people in the country.

So where do we go from here?

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