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Tears of tribal land

Afif Abd Halim6 years ago28th Aug 2018Pictures
Blockade orang asli gua musang 20180827 tmiafif 09
Forestry Department officers dismantling the Kaleg blockade at Kuala Betis, Gua Musang, Kelantan. – The Malaysian Insight pic by Afif Abd Halim, August 28, 2018.
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AS the nation counts down to Merdeka, the Orang Asli in Gua Musang do not feel like they are equal citizens despite being the oldest residents of the land that is now called Malaysia. 

This is because their claims to tribal lands that they have used for generations are still not recognised by the Kelantan government. 

Yesterday, they were dealt another blow to that fight for their rights when the blockades they erected to protect their land claims were destroyed by state government agencies. 

After being up for close to eight months, the barricades they built and maintained were dismantled as they watched on with silent tears and heavy hearts.

Now, there is nothing to prevent plantations companies and loggers from entering and further destroying the communal jungles they have depended on for generations for sustenance.  

As Temiar activist Mustafa Along puts it – everyone else feels like they have been liberated or “merdeka”, but not the Orang Asli. “We have been denied our rights as equal citizens.” – August 28, 2018.

Forestry Department officers dismantling the Kaleg blockade at Kuala Betis, Gua Musang, Kelantan. – The Malaysian Insight pic by Afif Abd Halim, August 28, 2018.
Forestry Department officers dismantling the Kaleg blockade at Kuala Betis, Gua Musang, Kelantan. – The Malaysian Insight pic by Afif Abd Halim, August 28, 2018.
Activists from the Kelantan Indigenous People’s Network (JKOAK) making a human barricade to prevent Forestry Department officers tearing down the Kaleg blockade in Gua Musang, Kelantan. – The Malaysian Insight pic by Afif Abd Halim, August 28, 2018.
Activists from the Kelantan Indigenous People’s Network (JKOAK) making a human barricade to prevent Forestry Department officers tearing down the Kaleg blockade in Gua Musang, Kelantan. – The Malaysian Insight pic by Afif Abd Halim, August 28, 2018.
Activists from the Kelantan Indigenous People’s Network (JKOAK) making a human barricade to prevent Forestry Department officers tearing down the Kaleg blockade in Gua Musang, Kelantan. – The Malaysian Insight pic by Afif Abd Halim, August 28, 2018.
Activists from the Kelantan Indigenous People’s Network (JKOAK) making a human barricade to prevent Forestry Department officers tearing down the Kaleg blockade in Gua Musang, Kelantan. – The Malaysian Insight pic by Afif Abd Halim, August 28, 2018.
Activists from the Kelantan Indigenous People’s Network (JKOAK) at the Kaleg blockade in Gua Musang, Kelantan. – The Malaysian Insight pic by Afif Abd Halim, August 28, 2018.
Activists from the Kelantan Indigenous People’s Network (JKOAK) at the Kaleg blockade in Gua Musang, Kelantan. – The Malaysian Insight pic by Afif Abd Halim, August 28, 2018.
Activists from the Kelantan Indigenous People’s Network (JKOAK) at the Kaleg blockade in Gua Musang, Kelantan. – The Malaysian Insight pic by Afif Abd Halim, August 28, 2018.
Activists from the Kelantan Indigenous People’s Network (JKOAK) at the Kaleg blockade in Gua Musang, Kelantan. – The Malaysian Insight pic by Afif Abd Halim, August 28, 2018.
Forestry Department officers trying to persuade activists from the Kelantan Indigenous People’s Network (JKOAK) to dismantle the Kaleg blockade at Kuala Betis, Gua Musang, Kelantan. – The Malaysian Insight pic by Afif Abd Halim, August 28, 2018.
Forestry Department officers trying to persuade activists from the Kelantan Indigenous People’s Network (JKOAK) to dismantle the Kaleg blockade at Kuala Betis, Gua Musang, Kelantan. – The Malaysian Insight pic by Afif Abd Halim, August 28, 2018.
Forestry Department officers dismantling the Kaleg blockade at Kuala Betis, Gua Musang, Kelantan. – The Malaysian Insight pic by Afif Abd Halim, August 28, 2018.
Forestry Department officers dismantling the Kaleg blockade at Kuala Betis, Gua Musang, Kelantan. – The Malaysian Insight pic by Afif Abd Halim, August 28, 2018.
Forestry Department officers dismantling the Kaleg blockade at Kuala Betis, Gua Musang, Kelantan. – The Malaysian Insight pic by Afif Abd Halim, August 28, 2018.
Forestry Department officers dismantling the Kaleg blockade at Kuala Betis, Gua Musang, Kelantan. – The Malaysian Insight pic by Afif Abd Halim, August 28, 2018.
Activists from the Kelantan Indigenous People’s Network (JKOAK) forming a human chain at the Kaleg blockade in Kuala Betis, Gua Musang, Kelantan. – The Malaysian Insight pic by Afif Abd Halim, August 28, 2018.
Activists from the Kelantan Indigenous People’s Network (JKOAK) forming a human chain at the Kaleg blockade in Kuala Betis, Gua Musang, Kelantan. – The Malaysian Insight pic by Afif Abd Halim, August 28, 2018.
Activists from the Kelantan Indigenous People’s Network (JKOAK) forming a human chain at the Kaleg blockade in Kuala Betis, Gua Musang, Kelantan. – The Malaysian Insight pic by Afif Abd Halim, August 28, 2018.
Activists from the Kelantan Indigenous People’s Network (JKOAK) forming a human chain at the Kaleg blockade in Kuala Betis, Gua Musang, Kelantan. – The Malaysian Insight pic by Afif Abd Halim, August 28, 2018.
Activists from the Kelantan Indigenous People’s Network (JKOAK) forming a human chain at the Kaleg blockade in Kuala Betis, Gua Musang, Kelantan. – The Malaysian Insight pic by Afif Abd Halim, August 28, 2018.
Activists from the Kelantan Indigenous People’s Network (JKOAK) forming a human chain at the Kaleg blockade in Kuala Betis, Gua Musang, Kelantan. – The Malaysian Insight pic by Afif Abd Halim, August 28, 2018.
An officer from the Forestry Department dismantling the Kaleg blockade at Kuala Betis, Gua Musang, Kelantan. – The Malaysian Insight pic by Afif Abd Halim, August 28, 2018.
An officer from the Forestry Department dismantling the Kaleg blockade at Kuala Betis, Gua Musang, Kelantan. – The Malaysian Insight pic by Afif Abd Halim, August 28, 2018.
Nur Mohd Syafiq Dendi Abdullah crying as he tries to stop the dismantling of the Kaleg blockade in Kuala Betis, Gua Musang, Kelantan. – The Malaysian Insight pic by Afif Abd Halim, August 28, 2018.
Nur Mohd Syafiq Dendi Abdullah crying as he tries to stop the dismantling of the Kaleg blockade in Kuala Betis, Gua Musang, Kelantan. – The Malaysian Insight pic by Afif Abd Halim, August 28, 2018.
Activists from the Kelantan Indigenous People’s Network (JKOAK) trying to dissuade Forestry Department officers at the Kaleg blockade in Kuala Betis, Gua Musang, Kelantan. – The Malaysian Insight pic by Afif Abd Halim, August 28, 2018.
Activists from the Kelantan Indigenous People’s Network (JKOAK) trying to dissuade Forestry Department officers at the Kaleg blockade in Kuala Betis, Gua Musang, Kelantan. – The Malaysian Insight pic by Afif Abd Halim, August 28, 2018.
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