The Orang Asli indigenous group from West Malaysia are the oldest inhabitants of this country, official figures cite 18 Orang Asli tribes categorized under three main groups according to their different languages and customs.

The Orang Asli tribes have a close and unique connection with the lands and environments in which they live since long and have established distinct systems of knowledge, innovation and practices relating to the uses and management of biological diversity on these lands and environments.

Today Malaysia’s oldest populations with unique cultural practices are under threat  due to complex issues including modernization, external pressures, and land grabbing, loss of their ancestral lands.

The Malaysian national state policies however do not reflect clear measures for the protection and preservation of the oldest peoples, citizens of its own country.

One of the core issues that Orang Asli population faces today is the customary land rights, which is though…