Also, given the experience of the dealings in village committees, and given the potential for individuals in the community to abuse the system of distribution of rights and allotments, the practice of granting individual land titles is likely to cause splits in the community. Furthermore, no assurance has been given that the titled lots would be in their traditional territories. On the contrary, there are indications, discussed in the next section, that to enjoy the security afforded by land titles, the Orang Asli would have to be resettled. Pursuing a policy of granting individual land titles, without first securing title to the communal ownership of Orang Asli traditional territories, as is now envisioned, reveals the position of the state vis-à-vis the Orang Asli on the question of land. For one, Orang Asli customary rights to their traditional territories are not recognised by the state. So too their traditional systems of land distribution are similarly not recognised. Furthermore, their existence as a distinct people attached to a particular ecological niche, is also not recognised. All these work towards reducing Orang Asli autonomy and threatens the security of their traditional territories and resources. To make matters worse, those Orang Asli who have opted for these ‘individual land titles’ in new resettlement sites, found that their ‘title’ was for a 99-year lease. The acreage varies from state to state, and range from 2 to 6 acres. This contrasts vastly from landless peasants in Felda schemes who get 8 to 10 acres of land, with freehold status. Thus, the policy on Orang Asli land has the effect of not only reducing the acreage of Orang Asli traditional territories by about 70 to 80 per cent, but they also seek to reduce the status of their ownership to one of a lease.2 Thus, the Orang Asli are clearly not being treated as rights-holders to their traditional territories. Instead they are still being regarded as ‘tenants-at-will’ and the granting of ‘land titles’ to the Orang Asli in these new resettlement schemes is to be seen as an act of kindness and affirmative action on the part of the government. 36 ORANG ASLI – RIGHTS, PROBLEMS & SOLUTIONS