“ The Selangor government should allocate land that is not too far from their present settlement ,” said Shariffa .

“ But even before they do that , the government must speak with the community first . Find out if the area is okay for them to carry out their activities and tradition . They cannot simply put them next to the treatment plant .

“ They have to find out what kind of area they can live in . Maybe a place near the beach where they can do their Puja Pantai as this has always been the tribe ’ s tradition .

“ They should then gazette the land as Tanah Adat and help build roads , utilities , houses and other facilities like a school .”

A Selangor GLC , Permodalan Negeri Selangor Berhad ( PNSB ), recently served the Mah Mari community an eviction notice to vacate the land in Bagan Lalang . The one-month notice was dated Apr 21 , 2021 .

The community had occupied the land since 20 years ago . PNSB , apparently , wants to turn the area into a tourist spot . Hence , the question : Why do we need another tourist attraction during these pandemic times ?

Shariffa is all for development . But at what cost , she asked . The Malaysian tourism industry is barely surviving since the pandemic hit Malaysia last march .

Refugees in their own land

“ The Malaysian and Selangor governments should celebrate the colourful lifestyle of the Mah Meri and their unique ways of celebration and traditions . That would be better than asking them to move .

“ Even if you give them more time , what are they supposed to do ? Where will they live now ? Will they be forced into a squatter area ? And perhaps , in three to four years , or decades down the line , only to be forced out again ?

“ We are defending and fighting for the rights of Palestinians thousands of miles away . But we seem to have the same refugee status issues in Selangor . This should be our priority , don ’ t you think ?” she argued .

Shariffa said she recognised the State government had the legal right over the land . But she appealed to their good conscience to find reasonable and permanent solutions to the Mah Meri community ’ s woes and the Orang Asli in general .

As a person who works closely with the Orang Asli community nationwide , she said the community was undoubtedly the most significant contributor to nature preservation . They have their own earthfriendly practices to live with nature in a very sustainable way .

Puan Sri Shariffa Sabrina

Mah Meri - Masked Man of Malaysia ,

“ They know how to navigate the forest . They know how important the forest is . It is in their souls and DNA to take care of the forest ,” added Shariffa . Lawyer-activist Siti Kasim is the chairperson of Orang Asli Committee under the Bar Council regarding this Mah Meri issue . She and her team visited

the affected families in Bagan Lalang to advise them on their rights .

She said the committee would only meet the Orang Asli when they are approached for help . This is because they do not want to be branded as “ instigators ”.

When asked about the next move for