Syed Ibrahim Syed Ahmad, who heads Pahang’s Islamic religious affairs, rural development and Orang Asli affairs committee, said Oraco will distribute the dividends from the plantation’s profits to the 84 Orang Asli households which had to be relocated to make way for a dam.
Oraco, a state government company which began operations in 2022, serves as a one-stop centre to manage and develop the Orang Asli community’s economic growth in the state.
“The Orang Asli development department (Jakoa) has also provided interim payments of RM300 per month for eight months to each of these 84 households starting from August 2021,” said Syed Ibrahim in a statement.
“Jakoa and Oraco are working to obtain approval for additional assistance such as interim dividends and food baskets to help these 84 Orang Asli families with their living expenses.
“The Pahang government is always concerned about the welfare and rights of the Orang Asli in the state, especially the three settlements involved in the development of the Ulu Jelai hydroelectric dam in Cameron Highlands.”
On March 15, FMT reported how the Orang Asli community in Kampung Pinang, Cameron Highlands, is still struggling 13 years after relocating to accommodate Tenaga Nasional Bhd’s (TNB) construction of the dam in 2011.
Village head Karim Akob said his stepfather, who was the village head at the time of the relocation, told him TNB gave the community compensation for plants and graves located within 2m of the riverbank.
The community was also given 20 houses and a monthly allowance of RM689 per household for a five-year period.
Karim said once the five-year period was up, compensation would take the form of “dividends” from the harvest of oil palm fruits at a plantation to be identified.
He claimed that TNB issued payment in the form of a cheque, which was handed through Jakoa to Oraco, and that the plantation site had been allocated, but there was no contractor available to develop it.
As there is little traditional farming the villagers can do due to the unsuitable land conditions in the area, he said, they have no choice but to turn to TNB again for additional monetary compensation and the promised palm oil dividends.
In the statement, Syed Ibrahim said TNB had “fulfilled their responsibilities” by paying out RM67 million for various compensation packages related to the construction of the Ulu Jelai hydroelectric dam.
He said this includes the construction of new settlements, compensation for agriculture and livestock, and the development of electrical infrastructure.
He also said RM5.795 million of the RM67 million had been channelled to the state government through Oraco for Orang Asli economic projects related to the construction of the Susu Dam in Cameron Highlands, which shares a border with the Ulu Jelai hydroelectric dam.