Dolah Tekoi, head of the Johor network of Orang Asli villages said a memorandum was submitted to menteri besar Onn Hafiz Ghazi through his private secretary Iskandar Omar, Sinar Daily reported.

Dolah said the Orang Asli community were worried that they would be deemed as temporary residents who could be evicted at any time.

“This protest is not for personal gain but to defend our rights,” he was quoted as saying by the daily. “We are more comfortable with the old system of placing the land under the normal reserve system of the Aboriginal Peoples Act and the National Land Code.”

The protest memorandum submitted to the menteri besar includes the community’s objection to the conversion proposal and concept papers for a proposal on customary land management, he said.

The memorandum also contained signatures from the Orang Asli community in 40 different villages across the state. Dolah said the issue will also be raised with Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim within two weeks, as it is a crucial issue that needs immediate action from the government.

He said community leaders were prepared to meet Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar if the Johor ruler called for a meeting.

Ramli Yusof, committee chairman of the Orang Asli settlement in Pengkalan Tereh said the community cultivates rubber, palm oil, bananas and sugarcane to earn a living.

“We have land that had been gazetted by the government but this land could also be reserved as sultanate land. There is no need to implement this proposal because we already have a law that protects us,” he said.

The proposal to have Orang Asli reserve land classified as sultanate land was made by Sultan Ibrahim in March. He said the change in classification would ensure the land is well protected under available laws.