* Forestry itself is not so much responsible for deforestation, but
the subsequent establishment of cash crops on the land that has been
thus cleared is one of its major causes.
State forests are exploited with licenses despite clauses for the preservation of the forest in the area. In theory, only forest reserve land cannot be exploited for commercial purposes, but the status of such land varies and is always unfavorable to the Orang Asli. The exploitation of the forest implies building large roads that provide access to these areas.
* Dams are the second major cause of deforestation : six of the most
important ones on the peninsula are in the central range of Perak ; the dam in
Temengor submerged 140 km2 of primary forest. Some projects have
been postponed.
Since 1985, forestry has been putting great pressure on the environment in which the Semaq Beri live through extensive exploitation in the State of Trengannu. Moreover a dam floaded their territory on Trengannu River. In north-east Pahang, the impact has been of little consequence because of the huge size of the area. Since 1981 there have been several projects for dams, and a military zone was created in 1957, but there are no immigrant farmers and no mines. The Semaq Beri do not exert internal pressures on the environment either by excessive agriculture or by excessive hunting.
The Batek, Batek de, are submitted to strong pressures from mining since 1940, forestry since 1972 (a FELDA project includes exploiting over 36 000 acres of forest for rubber production on Batek territory between 1976 and 1980, (ENDICOTT, 1979 a)), a project for a dam since 1980, the creation of military zones since 1985.
'Pioneer frontier'-type development remains illegal practice between the coastal plains and the lowlands on the one hand, and the mountains inland on the other. But intensive development is on schedule for the central low and mid-altitude mountain areas.
Since 1957 (independence), the Malay Federation has been actively implementing a policy of agricultural development that was first restricted to lowland rice cultivation, and now attempts to conquer and control the hinterland through colonization. The settlers are Muslim Malays.
Three agencies, of unequal size, share between themselves the implementation of the colonization of inland areas : FELDA, FELCRA, and RISDA. They have played a central role in Malaysia's policy for developing and consolidating the agricultural pioneer frontiers, mainly through hevea and oil palm (Eloeis guineensis) cultivation.
a) FELDA, a federal agency created in 1956 (under British ruling), encourages development of land through collective work, with financial aid, by setting up cooperative industries and creating local councils. It is the main organizer and manager of development programmes on the colonization pioneer frontiers.
Since 1986, this powerful apparatus controls 700 000 ha (956 km2 per year between 1985 and 1990, as compared to 2500 km2 per year at the end of the 1970s) of cleared land exploited or ready for use by 90 000 families of settlers (i.e. an estimated population of 450 000, 0,33% of total population).
Each family controlled by the agency has about 4 ha for cultivating hevea and oil palms, plus a garden adjoining the house for their own food production.
b) Settlers under FELCRA supervision have about 2 ha for hevea cultivation. This agency controls about 160 000 ha.
c) RISDA (created in the early 1970s) does slightly different work : it encourages small-scale planters to improve their small hevea plantations.
The States of Pahang, Negeri Sembilan, Johore, the south of Perak and the south of Kelantan are more directly concerned with the 'development of pioneer frontiers'. It is also in these states that the hunter-gatherers and shifting cultivators live, and their situation is at times very precarious.
The 70% increase of cultivated areas over a period of twenty years shows the relative importance of cash crops compared to rice cultivation, and is a good indicator of the pressure put on these populations (DE KONINCK, 1986) :
Crops
|
1965
(in ha)
|
1985
|
| hevea
|
1.892.000
|
2.012.000
|
| oil
palm
|
102.000
|
1.400.000
|
| rice
|
500.000
|
775.000
|
| coconut
|
266.000
|
200.000
|
| cacao
|
68
ha
|
237.000
|
| Total
|
2.760.000
|
4.624.000
|
There are two types of enforced settlement : settlements (displacement of populations) and regroupment (bringing together separate groups in their area of origin).
The process began during the 'Emergency' (period of communist guerrilla activity) of the 1960s and led to regroupments of Orang Asli (Semaq Beri, Temaq, Negritos -Batek, Jahai, Lanoh- and Chewong) thought to sympathize with guerrilla action. Those who were most affected are the Temiar and the Semai groups. Big villages were created with plots of land for each household : gardens for subsistence agriculture and land for cash crops (rubber). But the pattern of 10 acres for rubber trees and 2 acres for house and garden is often much smaller than this and the soil soon becomes sterile.What is more, the right to use surrounding common land for collecting foodstuffs, hunting and pasture is virtually useless because of the rapid degredation of the land (ENDICOTT, 1987). Another problem is that the growth rate of rubber trees delays cash returns, and the government was financially unable to cope with this.
There are different kinds of settlements ; some are big and close to towns, whereas others are small and close to the forest edge so that the people may continue using forest resources.
Population displacement entails loss of traditional way of life and absence of rights over the land. It also means that Malays and Chinese come to hunt and fish on these lands, often using techniques unavailable to the Orang Asli (special nets, poison, gun). They take advantage of their kindness and use them as guides. They even pick fruit from the trees planted by the Orang Asli and which the latter do not even own themselves. Many regroupments were carried out close to towns, e.g. Gombak near Kuala Lumpur.
Enforced settlement entails impoverishment. Example of the Semelai (Jah het, J. hut) (HOE ,1964 in DUNN, 1975).
The Semelai live at Fort Iskandar in south Pahang, near Lake Tasek Bera, close to secondary forest and a little primary forest. Settled, they live off agriculture and fishing; two individuals in the community are full-time gatherers. Most gathering is done in the form of expeditions : a group of men leave the community for a month or two during the slack periods in the agricultural calendar.
The surroundings of the lake have been degraded, and the rest is scrubland covered with Ialang grass, burnt plots and a poor secondary forest. This means that in order to find the traditional products of the rainforest (5 different species of rattan, 3 of damar), they must go far afield, and trading these products brings in little money.
Unfortunately we lack information on the general state of health of this population.
25 regroupments were scheduled over 10-15 years from 1979 onwards.
The 1986-90 plan was to regroup 23 000 Orang Asli of the central mountain range into five types of agricultural communities.
Comparison of the basis of subsistence and population pressure before and after the regroupment of 2 Semai groups in the State of Pahang (COLIN NICHOLAS, 1990) :
Kampung Kuala Tal
The
size of allocated areas does not even correspond to a vital minimum.
K.
Sungei Buntu
size
of nenggerik territory
7.000
ha
25.000
ha
area
allocated after regroupment
95,1
ha, i.e. 1,4 %
109,6
ha, i.e. 1,4 %
population
103
139
households
16,5
19
area/pers.
before resettlement
68
ha
180
ha
area/pers.
after resettlement
0,9
ha
0,8
ha
A report by the Faculty of Medicine states that on a recent inspection (1990) of 24 settled Orang Asli villages, one could see an important degredation of the nutritional status and certainly no improvement. ENDICOTT notes that among settled Batek 20% of babies die before the age of 3. Similar figures apply for the Chewong.
The consequences of resettlement seem to be devastating : JIMIN (1983) estimates that out of 25 000 Orang Asli, 7 000 died because of the heat (in the lowlands, compared to the coolness of the forest at high altitude), illness and mental depression.
Health care is one of the basic initiatives but it is limited to a few health centres and a hospital near Kuala Lumpur.
Schools : teaching is carried out in Malay, the national language. Malay teachers have no knowledge whatsoever of Orang Asli traditions or of their language. Among the Batek, between 0 and 40% of children attend school. The Semaq Beri and Ulu Tembling have no schools (abandoned in 1985) but other southern groups do.
Associations for defence (HOWELL, 1992)
Social life among the Orang Asli is directed by a concept of human nature resulting from peaceful interaction and egalitarian social institutions. They are shy, not very good at defending themselves, and when others intrude on their land, their tactic is to run away. All this is detrimental to the fight for their survival.
POASAM, an association created in 1977 (now numbering 10 000 members) is a very active pressure group circulating information on the Orang Asli's overall situation and about the injustices they have to live with. Its aim is to counteract the rapid loss of land by gazetting Orang Asli land. They intervene in the national press and are allied with the influent Consumers Association of Penang. A magazine is published by the latter twice a week and regularly includes articles on the critical situation of the Orang Asli.
The POASAM is also a centre for documentation and research on the Orang Asli. Since 1991 they publish a quarterly magazine, Orang Asli News in Malay and English. Though of modest scope, it provides information on the exactions carried out by individuals, companies, the JOA or other government agencies.
Some encouraging results : first case that might be able to set a precedent : recently the High Court ruled in favour of a group of Orang Asli and against the State of Perak, because the latter had violated the 1954 Aboriginal Peoples Act (revised in 1974) by giving permission for forest exploitation in an aborigine reserve, though the latter had not been gazetted as such.
Persatuan Orang Asli and the Centre for Orang Asli Concerns are other Orang Asli organizations.
Conclusion
* The present position of the Orang Asli under Malay law is
unsatisfactory on a number of points:
1 - Their official 'special' status is still a matter of debate. As Bumiputera, the JOA would have less responsibilities towards them as far as health, education, and development are concerned, and these responsibilities would be transferred to the appropriate departments in the government.
2 - Conversion to Islam should not be taken into account as a criteria to define Orang Asli status as Bumiputera. As things stand, conversion can and does bring up legal problems to which there is no obvious solution.
3 - The Aboriginal Peoples Act is obsolete because it was designed for an unchanging situation that no longer applies in modern Malaysia. However, it is essential in the present political climate.
4 - The key to integration and development lies in security of land tenure. This can be obtained :
a) by including in the schemes of the FELDA and FELCRA agencies such titles and restrictions as apply for Malay reservations ;
b) for the rainforest inhabitants, by formally gazetting the reserves (again similar to the Malay reservation system) with a guarantee of security for the occupation of the land. The present temporary licence is inadequate.
All the different groups, including shifting cultivators, rely heavily on resources from the tropical rainforest, though with varying intensity. The forest is exploited for their own food requirements (wild tubers, ferns, durian, honey, hunting, fishing, etc), for medicinal purposes, and for trade, all part of a millenary tradition.
Many groups of Orang Asli are involved in the trade of forest products with the coastal Malays and the Chinese. This symbiotic relationship is an old one, but today it is set in different terms. Until recently, the Orang Asli sold forest products in order to acquire mainly metal objects, and tea, sugar, salt, as well as trinkets. Today it is the Malay and Chinese who have much to offer : only a few forest products have remained marketable and rubber, though reliable, is subject to fluctuating rates; on the other hand, there are many goods on offer (e.g. the Semai, GOMES, 1991).
Forest products collected: wild foodstuffs (honey, fruits, petai (Parkia speciosa)), wild animals sold as raw meat (Semaq Beri, Batek), non-foodstuffs, different species of rattan (Calamus sp.), resins, medicinal plants sold to Malays and Chinese merchants, magic charms, some wax, birds.
The money they receive in return is used to buy rice, tinned fish, clothing, matches, kerosene. In some ways, cutting rattan can be considered part of food production in Batek economy because it is exchanged for rice and flour (K. & K. ENDICOTT, 1987 : 150-1).
Among the Semaq Beri, rattan, only collected by men, brought in 93% of the total cash revenue for the group over a year (8-78/7-79) and was used to buy knives, boats, engines, guns, sewing needles, nets. With the money, or on credit from the traders, they buy rice, wheat flour, sugar, and oil. Another source of cash are local sporadic jobs : picking fruit, helping farmers, working in forestry for the JOA.
The ecological niche occupied by the Orang Asli today is that of suppliers of primary forest products to sedentary groups. Their own survival is dependent on their being able to obtain goods provided outside the forest (in RAMBO, 1979a : 49 ; DUNN, 1975).
Among the Chewong, massive cutting of Malacca cane (Calamus scipionum Lour.) began in 1981 ; the Chinese use it to make furniture which is then exported world-wide. This is mainly in the State of Perak. Men were totally involved in cutting the Malacca cane and stopped hunting and collecting and other daily chores. But it only lasted 8 months. Rattan is difficult to exploit and was then replaced by aloes wood (Aquillaria agallocha), much easier to deal with and involving both men and women.
Studies show that the Orang Asli have a very detailed knowledge of environmental phenomena : weather, zoology, mammals, insects, molluscs, cultivated plants, useful wild plants (RAMBO, 1979 a : 53).
Several authors suggest that the survival of many animals and plants is dependent on aboriginal activities. Wild cattle (gaur and seladang) seem to need the pastures offered by the plots left to forest regeneration by the Orang Asli (WHARTON, 1968). DENTAN (1968e) also supports this view : Orang Asli activities are therefore essential prerequisites to the survival of many wild plants and animal species.
But clearing patches of forest for agriculture also creates ideal conditions for the Anopheles maculatus to develop, and it is the principal malaria vector in the rainforest of Malaysia (POLUNIN, 1962 : 388, in RAMBO, 1979a : 54-5).
It seems the forest needs at least 50 years for complete regeneration, but Orang Asli swidden cultivation, as opposed to Malay and Chinese practices, does not seem to lead to patches being overtaken by Ialang grass, Imperata cilindrica.
To what extent are the Orang Asli aware of their impact on the ecosystem and take measures to preserve their natural resources ? The Temuan are careful to only collect adult rattan plants and always leave young shoots for later cutting (DUNN, 1975 : 80). The Batek behave similarly for wild yams (ENDICOTT, 1974 : 104). BAHARON (1973 : 233) notes that the care the Temuan put into picking durian is a factor of the perpetuation of the species together with the important role of men -and birds- in scattering the seeds throughout the forest (in RAMBO, 1979a : 55).
Occasionnally there are no signs of forest degradation (Semaq Beri), no excessive exploitation by agriculture, no decrease in the amount of game available, but the amount of wild products used for trade : rattan, resin (Batek). But large-scale collecting, conversion to the cultivation of oil palms, and the plantations outside the boundaries of the National Park have affected the access to natural resources in the last few years.
Religious beliefs and rituals also contribute to the adaptation of a population to its environment. Thus, ritual avoidance of agricultural work during certain phases of the moon provides a diversion of effort into hunting and fishing, which in turn ensures an adequate balance between carbohydrate and protein intake in the patterns of food consumption (in RAMBO, 1979a : 53).