Constitution and Aboriginal Peoples Act as discussed above. However
there is one fundamental difference: the international documents seek to
accord a ‘people’ status to the indigenes, with varying rights of sovereignty,
autonomy and self-determination.
The principle of self-determination, nevertheless, is what Orang Asli also
aspire to. In very broad terms, in the context of the Orang Asli, the call for
the right to self-determination would generally include, but not be limited
to, the following rights:
•
the right to the ownership of their lands as the territorial
base for the existence of their populations;
•
the right to use, manage and dispose of all natural resources
found within their ancestral lands;
•
the right to control their own economies, and the right to
economic prosperity;
•
the right to restore, manage, develop and practise their
culture, language, traditions and way of life in accordance
with their worldview, and to educate their children to
them;
•
the right to determine and to uphold indigenous political
and social systems;
•
the right to form alliances and federations with other
indigenous peoples for the attainment of common goals;
and
•
the right to a life of peace and security.
Self-determination, therefore, not only involves restoring to the indigenous
peoples their ownership and control over traditional territories, but also
involves allowing them to re‑establish their indigenous social order as they
themselves determine it.
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ORANG ASLI – RIGHTS, PROBLEMS & SOLUTIONS