A Damming Blow to the OA of Gua Musang

The RM5 billion Nenggiri Hydroelectric Project located in Kelantan is expected to supplement renewable energy for Malaysia, and also potentially generate 2,000 new jobs, on top of mitigating flood issues in the state. But for the Orang Asli in Gua Musang who call the area home, the project will submerge up to 5,834 hectares of forest that are their cultural lands, and force them to leave their homeland. They also believe the mega dam project will erase the historical trace of Orang Asli Temiar in West Malaysia, among many other issues. We speak to lawyer Seira Sacha Abu Bakar, the Chairperson of the Committee on Orang Asli Rights for the Malaysian Bar, for updates about the project, including how the recent Nenggiri archaeological excavation works by Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) unearthed artefacts including skeletal remains dating back 14000 years, making the site older than where the Perak Man was found.