Pakatan volunteers barred from Orang Asli villages

HULU SELANGOR: The Orang Asli community here have hit out at the Election Commission and the Orang Asli Affairs Department (JHEOA) for lying and threatening to pin illegal logging charges on their chief (Tok Batin) so that he does not allow Pakatan Rakyat volunteers into their villages.

Community leader Yusri Ahon said the EC and the JHEOA officials had warned Alam Supah from Kampung Tamu that they were investigating him for illegal logging.

“They lied to him and have frightened him. They have also warned him not to allow Pakatan election volunteers into the Orang Asli villages to talk about land and rights,” Yusri, who is among this group of “certain volunteers” said.

“We approached YB Elizabeth (Wong) and she told us that the EC is not allowed and has no right to investigate the Tok Batin.

“Anyway the Tok Batin is not guilty. The bad people are the illegal loggers who collaborators with the JHEOA. They just wanted to frighten him,” Yusri said.

Yusri, who is Pahang Orang Asli representative, has accused the JHEOA of manipulating Alam and forcing him to bar volunteers from entering the Asli villages to explain the issues of native land rights and the marginalisation of the community.

The Orang Asli votes in Hulu Selangor – numbering over 1,000 – could prove to be decisive in the April 25 by-election between BN's P Kamalanathan and PKR’s Zaid Ibrahim.

Yusri added that he had seen officials from the Orang Asli department stopping volunteers from going into the villages.

“But they are allowing the Umno-BN volunteers in,” he said, adding that the entire Pakatan Rakyat machinery had been barred from entering the 13 Orang Asli villages since last Saturday.

He said the villages involved were Bukit Manchong, Changkat Bintang, Serigala, Tun Abdul Razak, Gerachi Jaya, Buluh Telor, Gurney (Ulu Yam), Hulu Tamu, Kuala Kerling, Pertak, Serendah Ulu Melaka, Songkok, Bukit Sungai Garing, Sungai Kelubi, Kolam Air dan Sungai Jiang.

The quiet town of Hulu Selangor was thrust to the forefront following the death of incumbent PKR’s Zainal Abidin Ahmad on March 25.

Zainal had in March 2008 wrested the seat from BN’s G Palanivel with a razor thin 198 seat majority. Palanivel is the MIC deputy president.

FMT
20/04/10

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