• Home
  • News
    • Press Statements
    • Speeches
    • Bar News
    • AGMs and EGMs
    • In Memoriam
    • Legal and General News
    • Court Judgments
    • Highlights from the Appellate Courts
  • Members
    • Circulars
    • Peer Support Network
    • Sijil Annual and Payments
    • Benefits
    • Practice Management
    • Professional Development
    • Opportunities for Practice
    • Mentor-Mentee Programmes
    • Laws, BC Rulings and Practice Directions
    • Resources
    • Become a Member
  • Find
    • Legal Directories
    • BC Legal Aid Centres
    • State Bar Committees
    • Law Firms | Areas of Practice
    • Jobs
    • Useful Forms
  • About Us
    • Malaysian Bar and Bar Council
    • President's Corner
    • Committees
    • Previous Committees
    • Contacts
    • Advertising
    • Malaysian Bar Lifetime Achievement Award
  • Public
    • Complaints
    • Legal Aid
    • Notices
    • Compensation Fund
  • Search
  • Login
Search for

New login method: If first-time login, the password is your NRIC No. Call 20502191 for help.

 
Lost your password? Remember Me

 
No User ID/Password for firm? Click here for more information. Forgot Firm Username/Password?

Set a new password

If you have lost your password, you must set a new password. To begin this process, please key in your 12-digit NRIC No. below.

Forgot Firm Username/ Password?

Please enter name of firm or registered email address, indicate whether you want to retrieve your firm's username or password, and click "Submit".

Username Password
 
Access to Member Portal

Please key in your membership number, and click "GO"

BC
Resume Practice Request

Please key in your membership number, and click "GO"

BC
Newly-Called Request

Please key in your pupil code, and click "Submit"

Pupil Code

Change Password


Please enter your Password and Confirm Password then click on the Change Password button.
You will receive a new password shortly. Use this new password to access the site.

Password:
Confirm Password:
 
Change Password


Shortcut
  • Legal Directory
  • Find a Job
  • CPD
  • Online Shop
  • Payments
  • Complaints
  • Committees

Search the site

  • Search Me
Member Login
  • BC Online Facilities
  • Login Type 2
  • Login Type 3
  • Login Type 4
  • News
  • Press Statements
  • Press Statements
News
Press Statements
  • Press Statements
Speeches
  • Speeches
Bar News
  • Notices
  • News
AGMs and EGMs
  • Resolutions
In Memoriam
  • In Memoriam
Legal and General News
  • General News
  • Members' Opinions
  • Legal News
Court Judgments
  • Judgments
Highlights from the Appellate Courts
  • Highlights from the Appellate Courts
  • Go back to list
Press Release | The Right of the Orang Asli Community to Live with Dignity 20 Feb 2020 3:00 pm

The Malaysian Bar views with grave concern, a recent online news report on an Orang Asli community in Pahang living off a landfill of toxic rubbish with their children.1  

The landfill, located in Bukit Biru near Bukit Ibam in Bandar Muadzam Shah, Pahang was reported to have attracted the Orang Asli to forage in the decomposing waste.  It was also reported that basic necessities such as electricity and water were sorely lacking in this Orang Asli settlement, and that the source of the water there was a stagnant pond.  Even more poignant were photos showing Orang Asli children rummaging and playing at the landfill, exposing themselves to potentially hazardous materials.  It is equally regrettable that this scenario continues to persist notwithstanding media reports from more than 10 years ago highlighting members of this community living off the dumpsite.2 

Article 5 of the Federal Constitution provides that “no person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty save in accordance with law”.  In Tan Tek Seng v Suruhanjaya Perkhidmatan Pendidikan & Anor [1996] 1 MLJ 261, the Court of Appeal held that the term “life” does not merely refer to physical existence, but includes a life with dignity and the necessities of life such as employment and the right to live in a reasonably healthy and pollution-free environment.  Furthermore, the Federal and State Governments owe a fiduciary duty to the Orang Asli to protect their welfare, as stated in Kerajaan Negeri Selangor v Sagong Bin Tasi [2005] 6 MLJ 289.  In this regard, the Department of Orang Asli Development (“JAKOA”) is charged with the responsibility to ensure the protection, well-being and advancement of the Orang Asli. 

Once again, the predicament of this Orang Asli community can be partly attributed to the refusal of the Federal and State Governments to recognise the rights of the Orang Asli to live on and off their ancestral lands, and to provide all Orang Asli communities with basic infrastructure like water and electricity.  Given the special position of the Orang Asli under the Federal Constitution, the continued failure of the Federal and State Governments to protect and provide for marginalised Orang Asli can only be described as deplorable. 

Accordingly, the Malaysian Bar reiterates its call upon the Federal and State Governments to address the numerous issues faced by the Orang Asli comprehensively, including working together in consultation with local Orang Asli communities and Orang Asli NGOs to legally recognise Orang Asli customary areas and provide proper infrastructure facilities to uplift the well-being of the Orang Asli community. 

 

Abdul Fareed Abdul Gafoor
President
Malaysian Bar

20 February 2020
 


1 “Forgotten, Orang Asli in a Pahang town live off a landfill of toxic garbage”, Malay Mail Online, 14 February 2020.

2  “Lawatan ke Perkampongan Orang Asal di Rompin, Pahang”, Suhaimi Said,The Spirit of Lubok Kawah/Semangat Lubok Kawah, 14 August 2009.

Comments (0)
© Copyright Reserved 2025. Malaysian Bar.
Wisma Badan Peguam Malaysia, 2 Leboh Pasar Besar, 50050 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Terms and Conditions.
 

I'm a

 
 
 
 
 

I'm a