1.2 NATIONAL LAWS, ENACTMENTS AND RELEVANT JUDICIAL DECISIONS The Aboriginal Peoples Act (1954, revised 1974) is the only law that specifically refers to the Orang Asli. The traditional way of interpreting this Act, with regard to reserving land for Orang Asli, has been to accept that while the Act provides for the establishment of Orang Asli Areas and Orang Asli Reserves, it also grants the state authority the right to order any Orang Asli community to leave­—and stay out of—an area. In effect, the perception is that the best security that an Orang Asli can get is one of ‘tenant-at-will’. That is to say, an Orang Asli is allowed to remain in a particular area only at the pleasure of the state authority. If at any such time the state wishes to re-acquire the land, it can revoke its status and the Orang Asli are left with no other legal recourse but to move elsewhere. Furthermore, in the event of such displacement occurring, the state is not obliged to pay any compensation or allocate an alternative site to the affected Orang Asli; it may only do so. That is, in matters concerning Orang Asli land, the state authority has the final say. The practice has also been to accept that the Aboriginal Peoples Act accorded the Minister concerned—or his representative, the DirectorGeneral of the Department of Orang Asli Affairs (JHEOA)—the final say in all matters concerning the administration of the Orang Asli, including the appointment of headmen, entry or removal of individuals into Orang Asli settlements, and even deciding on the name of the ethnic subgroup an Orang Asli belongs to! However, it is contende here that the provisions of the Aboriginal Peoples Act have been narrowly interpreted and applied, invariably in favour of the authorities’ interests. All this in spite of the preamble of the Aboriginal Peoples Act specifically stating that this was to be, “an Act to provide for the protection, well-being and advancement of the aboriginal peoples of West Malaysia”. 6 ORANG ASLI – RIGHTS, PROBLEMS & SOLUTIONS