Report of the National Inquiry into the Land Rights of Indigenous Peoples 29 The State’s broad authority to extinguish NCR 3.46 Section 2 of the Land Code 1958 defines State land as “all land for which no document of title has been issued”, suggesting that lands held by natives under native title are also State lands. Section 12 on the other hand, States that “the entire property in and control of State land and all of rivers, streams and canals, creeks and water courses and the bed thereof is and shall be vested solely in the Government.” There is no provision saving the rights of those who are in customary occupation. The definition in section 2, in combination with section 12 seems to have a significant impact on NCR land. 3.47 Considering the central importance of land to natives as the essence of their community and spiritual life and the key input in their economies, any termination of land rights could cause irretrievable damage to native communities. The only statutory restraints on the extinguishment authority require that compensation be paid to the native owners and the Director provides notice in the Gazette, on the notice boards of the Superintendent and District Officer for the area where the land is located, and in the case of NCL, in a newspaper circulating in Sarawak.41 PENINSULAR MALAYSIA ORANG ASLI BOUNDARIES AND TERRITORIALITY 3.48 Every Orang Asli community is identified with a particular ecological niche that it regards as its customary or traditional territory. The Orang Asli have several specific terms for this communal territory, including tanah dan wilayah adat, nenggirik and pesaka’. For the Orang Laut communities, the sea and coastal fringes constitute their traditional lands, waters and territories. 3.49 Because the customary land (and waters) of an Orang Asli community is very localized and site-specific, it is not surprising that this specific ecological niche invariably becomes the basis of the community’s subsistence, spirituality, culture, history and identity. 3.50 An important aspect of Orang Asli customary lands is that it is uniquely exclusive to each indigenous community. That is to say, the extent of one community’s traditional boundaries does not overlap or encroach into that of a neighbouring Orang Asli community. 3.51 The demarcation of an Orang Asli community’s traditional boundaries usually follows geographical features such as rivers, mountains and hill ridges. In 1936, H.D. Noone, the British anthropologist who was responsible for Orang Asli affairs before the Japanese Occupation, observed that, “it is fairly certain that any group of Sakai42 has a country or area which it regards as its own and which follows land marks usually well-defined on existing maps. Local knowledge should be quite sufficient for marking these areas on the map and they could then be gazetted.”43 3.52 Some Orang Asli groups have additional considerations for the determination of the extent of their traditional boundaries. The Semelai of Tasik Bera in Pahang, for example, regard 41 Land Code 1958 s 48(2) (c). Section 15(2)(b) also requires that before signing a deed of surrender, the Superintendent must post a notice in the District Office and “other Government places in the neighbourhood where the land is located” inviting objections to the intended surrender of NCR. The Superintendent must also serve a copy of the notice on the Headman of the area where the land is located. Objectors are given 21 days from the date of the posting in the Gazette to submit an objection in writing to the Superintendent. Presumably, the reference to notice in the Gazette is the notice required by s 48(2)(c). 42 Sakai was the generic term used before 1960 to refer to the Orang Asli. The Orang Asli regard it as a derogatory term. 43 Cited by the District Officer of Kuala Selangor, D. Headly, to the State Secretary on 1 June 1948 (Sel. Sec. 675/1948, 3) chapter 3_a4.indd 29 7/5/13 6:43 PM