law provides that States have the duty to ensure the protection, preservation and development of this right. 60 Moreover, Article 8 (1) of the UNDRIP states that the IP “have the right not to be subjected to forced assimilation or destruction of their culture” 61. The Orang Asal’s traditions and customs play a major part in enriching the Malaysian melting-pot of cultures, and the preservation of those traditions and customs have long been underscored. For instance, the Founding Father of Malaysia, the late Tunku Abdul Rahman, gave the assurance that the religion and culture of the natives of Sabah and Sarawak would not be lost by joining Malaysia. 62 He pledged that the natives had the freedom to pursue their customs and to study their ancestral language. 63 More recently, in a statement before the 66th Session of the UN General Assembly in New York in 2011, the Malaysian Representative to the UN, Ms Farisha Salman, said that the Government has made it a priority to assist the IP in Malaysia to preserve their traditional cultural heritage. It is noted that the customs and traditions of the Orang Asal in Malaysia currently face deterioration due to various factors such as modern development, interference of the Government and the creation of new forms of institutions that do not respect those traditional customs and traditions. 64 However, there are a number of initiatives instituted in Malaysia that have supported the preservation of the Orang Asal traditions and ICESCR (n 59), Article 3, 6(2), 15(1)(a), 15(2); UNDRIP (n 48), Article 8(2)(a), 11(2), 12(2), 16(2) UNDRIP (n 48), Article 8(1) 62 Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ramy Bulan, “Constitutional Safeguards for Native Cultural and Customary Rights” in Orang Asli and Our Constitution – Protecting Indigenous Customs and Cultural Rights (Kuala Lumpur, 1 November 2007) <http://www.malaysianbar.org.my/malaysian_law_conference_organising_committee/orang_asli_and_our_c onstitution_protecting_indigenous_customs_and_cultural_rights.html>accessed 8 September 2014 63 Ibid. 64 The Malaysian Bar, The Orang Asli and Our Constitution – Protecting Indigenous Customs and Cultural Rights (The Malaysian Bar, 1 November 2007) <http://www.malaysianbar.org.my/malaysian_law_conference_organising_committee/orang_asli_and_our_c onstitution_protecting_indigenous_customs_and_cultural_rights.html>accessed 8 September 2014;Amanda Stephenson “Borneo Mega-dams Threaten Indigenous “Ethnocide” (Cultural Survival, 11 July 2014) <https://www.culturalsurvival.org/news/borneo-mega-dams-threaten-indigenous-ethnocide> accessed 8 September 2014; SUHAKAM (n 9), para. 2.9; Centre for Orang Asli Concerns (COAC), “Integration and Modernisation of the Orang Asli: The Impact on Culture and Identity” (COAC, 20 August 2012) <http://www.coac.org.my/beta/main.php?section=articles&article_id=15> accessed 8 September 2014; Dr Alias Abd Ghani, ‘The Semang Group of Orang Asli: Language and Cultural Endangerment’ (Universiti Sains Malaysia) <http://www.mymla.org/files/icmm2010_papers/ICMM2010_p8.pdf> accessed 8 September 2014 60 61 18