Dr. Ong Kian Ming, MP for Serdang urged Inspector General of Police, Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar, to conduct a full investigation into the complaints made against the behaviour of the police in Gua Musang. In a statement made earlier today, the Serdang MP implied that the Gua Musang police were “taking revenge” on the three orang asli by putting the them behind bars for complaining to Bukit Aman authorities about how they were told to fabricate reports about the injuries and damage they sustained.
On 26 Feb 2014, a group of six Temiar Orang Asli from Kampung Tahu in Lojing, Kelantan were attacked by a group of about between 40 to 100 migrant workers as they were heading for a village meeting. Itam bin Ajang and Rahman bin Uda Two were severely injured, requiring hospitalization and 7 and 15 stitches respectively. Another (Anes bin Akai) had his motorcycle intentionally damaged by a bulldozer after he abandoned it and fled.
The assault was in response to the Temiars opposition to the owner of the project Allgreen Agritech Sdn Bhd that had encroached on their customary land. The villagers had been puting up banners expressing their discontentment with the company acquiring 3000 hectars of their land.
The victims made reports at the Gua Musang District police station On the 27 February. At 1.30 pm, they were told to try and settle the matter with the employer (Allgreen Agritech Sdn Bhd) of the migrant workers, by the police who had discussed the issue with the company’s clerks. The police advised the victims to accept RM500 compensation from the employer of the Myanmarese workers and tried to get the Temiars to say that the injuries were caused after they fell from the motorcycle; and that they were drunk at the time.
These six Orang Asli (including the victims) came to KL to lodge a complaint with the Police Headquarters at Bukit Aman with the assistance of Bar Council lawyers On March 5. They complained with the Ethics Division (Bahagian Tatatertib) of Bukit Aman against the allegedly unprofessional Gua Musang cops.
On March 8, three of the six were called by the Gua Musang police to issue a statement but were detained and remanded instead for possessing arms at a riot. They are Itam Anjang, Rahman Uda and Anis Akai who were the victims of the Feb 26 attack and came to KL on Mar 5 for the Bkt Aman complaint.
The Temiar Asli trio were charged in Gua Musang Magistrate Court under S148 to which they claimed trial. Judge fixed bail at RM 2,000 with one surety each. As of yesterday, they were unable to post bail because they did not have access to sufficient funds.
“This incident also raises questions about the ability of the police in Gua Musang to protect the Temiar Orang Asli villagers in Kampung Tahu, Lojing, Gua Musang and their links to All Green Agritech Sdn Bhd, the employer of the migrant workers who attacked the Orang Asli,” said Dr Ong. -The Rocket
