Suhakam sambut baik keputusan mahkamah mengkedepankan hak Orang Asli / Suhakam welcomes court decision affirming Orang Asli rights

[ENGLISH VERSION BELOW] Suruhanjaya Hak Asasi Manusia Malaysia (Suhakam) menyambut baik keputusan Mahkamah Persekutuan yang memihak kepada tujuh penduduk Orang Asli dari Kampung Batu 20, Pekan, Pahang, berhubung kemusnahan pada kubur nenek moyang mereka semasa aktiviti pembangunan.

Keputusan sebulat suara tersebut mengembalikan keputusan Mahkamah Tinggi, termasuk pemberian ganti rugi am sebanyak RM20,000 kepada setiap plaintif.

Mahkamah turut mengesahkan bahawa masyarakat Orang Asli mempunyai hak komuniti dan hak milik terhadap tanah adat yang telah didiami dan digunakan secara turun-temurun, walaupun tanpa hak milik tanah rasmi.

Suhakam menyokong pengiktirafan mahkamah bahawa hak adat Orang Asli merangkumi hubungan budaya dan spiritual dengan nenek moyang serta wilayah tradisional mereka, termasuk akses kepada kawasan perkuburan.

Dapatan mahkamah bahawa perbuatan mencemarkan kubur nenek moyang merupakan suatu pencabulan terhadap maruah Orang Asli turut mengiktiraf hubungan erat mereka dengan tanah, budaya, kepercayaan dan identiti.

Penghakiman ini juga menegaskan bahawa pemberian hak milik tanah atau hak pembangunan kepada pihak ketiga tidak dengan sendirinya menghapuskan hak adat yang telah sedia wujud.

Keputusan ini menegaskan keperluan melindungi hak adat sebelum pembangunan dilaksanakan.

Suhakam menegaskan bahawa pihak berkuasa kerajaan, agensi negeri dan pihak perniagaan bertanggungjawab untuk mengenal pasti serta menghormati hak tanah adat sebelum tanah dilupuskan atau projek pembangunan diluluskan atau dimulakan.

Ini termasuk penglibatan bermakna dengan masyarakat terjejas serta penghormatan terhadap prinsip izin berasaskan makluman awal, bebas dan telus – khususnya apabila pembangunan berkemungkinan menjejaskan tanah adat, kawasan perkuburan, tapak keramat, mata pencarian atau warisan budaya.

Keputusan ini juga selaras dengan prinsip Deklarasi Pertubuhan Bangsa-Bangsa Bersatu mengenai Hak Orang Asal (UNDRIP), yang disokong oleh Malaysia.

UNDRIP mengiktiraf hak Orang Asal dan Orang Asli untuk mengekalkan hubungan spiritual dengan tanah dan wilayah tradisional mereka serta mengamalkan dan menghidupkan semula adat budaya mereka.

Oleh itu, Suhakam menggesa kerajaan persekutuan dan kerajaan negeri memperkukuh pengiktirafan dan perlindungan undang-undang serta pentadbiran terhadap hak tanah adat Orang Asli.

Wilayah adat, kawasan perkuburan dan tapak berkepentingan budaya hendaklah dikenal pasti dan dilindungi sebelum tanah dilupuskan, dipajak atau diluluskan untuk pembangunan.

Perniagaan yang beroperasi di dalam atau berhampiran wilayah adat juga hendaklah menjalankan usaha wajar hak asasi manusia bagi mencegah kesan buruk terhadap hak, maruah, budaya dan warisan masyarakat Orang Asli serta memastikan akses kepada remedi yang berkesan sekiranya berlaku kemudaratan.

Penghakiman ini mengingatkan bahawa pembangunan tidak boleh dilaksanakan dengan mengorbankan maruah manusia, identiti budaya dan hak Orang Asal.

Melindungi tanah adat Orang Asli bukan sekadar soal pentadbiran tanah, tetapi juga berkaitan dengan kesaksamaan, maruah, kelangsungan budaya dan keadilan. – Suhakam

English version

Suhakam welcomes Federal Court decision affirming Orang Asli customary, cultural and spiritual rights

The Malaysian human rights commission Suhakam welcomes the Federal Court’s decision in favour of seven Orang Asli villagers from Kampung Batu 20, Pekan, Pahang, concerning the destruction of their ancestral graves during development activities.

The unanimous decision reinstated the High Court’s ruling in favour of the villagers, including the award of RM20,000 in general damages to each of the seven plaintiffs.

Significantly, the Federal Court affirmed that Orang Asli communities possess communal and proprietary rights over customary lands on which they have traditionally lived, foraged, farmed and fished, notwithstanding the absence of formal land titles.

Suhakam particularly welcomes the court’s recognition that Orang Asli customary rights extend beyond the physical occupation or economic use of land to encompass their cultural and spiritual relationship with their ancestors and traditional territories, including access to ancestral burial grounds.

The court’s finding that the desecration of ancestral graves strikes at the core of Orang Asli dignity affirms the deep connection between land, culture, spirituality and identity.

The judgment further reinforces that the issuance of land titles or development rights to third parties does not, by itself, extinguish pre-existing customary rights.

This decision underscores the need to protect customary rights before development takes place, rather than leaving affected communities to seek redress only after harm has occurred.

Suhakam reiterates that government authorities, state agencies and businesses have a responsibility to identify and respect customary land rights before land is alienated or development projects are approved or commenced.

This requires meaningful engagement with affected communities and respect for the principle of free, prior and informed consent, particularly where development may affect customary lands, burial grounds, sacred sites, livelihoods or cultural heritage.

The decision is also consistent with the principles of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), which Malaysia supported.

UNDRIP recognises Indigenous peoples’ rights to maintain and strengthen their distinctive spiritual relationship with their traditionally owned or otherwise occupied lands and territories, and to practise and revitalise their cultural traditions and customs.

Suhakam therefore calls on the federal and state governments to strengthen the legal and administrative recognition and protection of Orang Asli customary land rights.

Clear safeguards are needed to ensure that customary territories, burial grounds and culturally significant sites are properly identified and protected before land is alienated, leased or approved for development.

Businesses operating on or near customary territories must likewise undertake effective human rights due diligence to prevent adverse impacts on the rights, dignity, culture and heritage of Orang Asli communities and ensure access to effective remedies where harm occurs.

This judgment is an important reminder that development cannot be pursued at the expense of human dignity, cultural identity and the rights of Indigenous peoples.

Protecting Orang Asli customary lands is not merely a matter of land administration, but one of equality, dignity, cultural survival and justice. – Suhakam

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