and advance in agricultural technique and the choice of suitable sites. Since then, the JHEOA has introduced a number of action plans and ‘programme summaries’ for the attainment of the goals and principles as outlined in the 1961 Policy Statement. But the 1961 Policy Statement still remains as the only official policy governing the administration and development of the Orang Asli that is still in force today. This was confirmed by the then Deputy Director-General of the JHEOA, Yahaya Hj. Awang, in his sworn testimony in the Shah Alam High Court during the hearing of the Sagong Tasi case in 2001. He also testified that there is no evidence of withdrawal of this policy thus far and as such it is still in force (Notes of Evidence, Sagong Tasi case, Shah Alam High Court, 2001). This being so, it is clear that the intention of the Government in 1961 was to accord the Orang Asli with various rights, including the rights to their traditional lands and to their culture, in accordance with the deliberations of the 1953 Legislative Council hearings when the Aboriginal Peoples Bill (which later became the Aboriginal Peoples Act 1954) was debated and eventually passed. In fact, Dato Onn Jaafar in moving the Bill to the Legislative Council on 27 October 1953, reiterated that it was to be a “comprehensive legislation for the protection of aborigines throughout the Federation.” Thus the 1961 Statement of Policy Regarding the Administration of the Orang Asli of Peninsula Malaysia puts in clear, unambiguous terms how the legislators of the Aboriginal Peoples Act intended the Orang Asli to be treated by further enumerating those rights in writing. 12 ORANG ASLI – RIGHTS, PROBLEMS & SOLUTIONS