ORANG ASLI FROM 14 FAMILIES FACE EVICTION FROM STATE LAND IN DUNGUN

DUNGUN, Jan 20 (Bernama) -- A total of 51 residents from 14 Orang Asli families at the Bukit Bauk Forest Reserve near Kampung Durian Mentangau here are facing eviction from the Terengganu state government land they have occupied since 2016.

Tok Batin Anuar Bakung, 58, said the Orang Asli residents from the Semoq Beri, Jakun and Temiar tribes, who earned a living by collecting rattan and forest roots, were now living in fear over the future of their respective families if they were ordered to relocate.

He said the residents received a notice letter from the Dungun Land Office on July 15, 2025, instructing them to vacate the state government land.

“Based on the contents of the letter, residents were ordered to demolish their houses and vacate the area within 90 days from the date the letter was issued,” he said when met by reporters here today.

A Bernama survey found that 14 houses in the Orang Asli settlement were also fitted with warning notices prohibiting the occupation of government land around the area.

Anuar said the residents had submitted an application to the Dungun Land Office on June 10, 2025, seeking permission to occupy the area while awaiting their application for a Temporary Occupation Licence (TOL), which was being pursued together with the Terengganu Orang Asli Development Department (JAKOA).

He said all the families were currently living in houses built by a non-profit technical relief organisation, Insaf Malaysia, last year, which were equipped with basic facilities, including solar lighting.

Insaf Malaysia representative Othman Omar said it spent about RM560,000 to build the 14 houses and planned to apply for clean water supply and electricity facilities for the residents.

Meanwhile, Terengganu State Infrastructure, Utilities and Rural Development Committee chairman Datuk Hanafiah Mat said the Orang Asli residents concerned must vacate the area as the settlement was located on state government land.

According to him, the area had been identified as a proposed site for the construction of Kolej Al-Quran Terengganu, and the state government could not consider applications for water and electricity supply as long as the land status remained as state government-owned.

-- BERNAMA