PETALING JAYA, April 20 (Bernama) -- The Indigenous Peoples Network of
Malaysia or Jaringan Orang Asal Se-Malaysia (JOAS) has given Kelantan Menteri
Besar Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat four days to make an open apology and retract
his statement for insulting the Orang Asli who staged a demonstration in front
of the main gate of the State Secretariat building in Kota Bharu last Sunday.
Kelantan JOAS chairman Azmi Badol said they would resort to legal action if
Nik Abdul Aziz did not do so.
"We feel insulted after knowing that Nik Aziz regarded us as stupid and do
not know how to rent a bus and pay for it. He also said we are not Kelantan
people.
"This is not a problem which concerns the Orang Asli in other states. This
is the problem of the Orang Asli in Kelantan. It is about our life," he told a
media conference here today.
He refuted an allegation by Nik Abdul Aziz that the demonstration, staged by
about 400 Orang Asli from 26 settlements in Gua Musang last Sunday to demand for
the return of their customary land, was masterminded by outsiders.
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JOAS - NIK AZIZ 2 (LAST) KUALA LUMPUR
Nik Abdul Aziz, in a statement last Tuesday, said that the state government
would not entertain their claims.
He also said that the demonstration was held because some quarters envied
the state government for being able to meet the demands by the Orang Asli.
--BERNAMA
PNW AKT MIS