From: Lye Tuck-Po, ed. 2001. Orang Asli of Peninsular Malaysia: A Comprehensive and Annotated Bibliography, CSEAS Research Report Series No. 88. Kyoto: Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University.References 1475–1550
Official statements, documents, and memoranda
All the archived documents listed in this section were copied from published citations and not reviewed by the editor. As such, the references follow the format as adopted by the citing authors. These references are listed by author names if author information is available; otherwise, they are listed under the various government sections (“Federal Secretariat”; “Selangor State Secretariat”, etc.). If the relevant department is not clear from the citation, the reference are grouped under “ANON”. “State Archives” here refers to holdings at Arkib Negara (National Archives) in Kuala Lumpur.
1443. 1927. Minutes on Perak FO/256/27, State Archives — debate among foresters concerning the documentation of land needed by Orang Asli swidden farmers. Though it was agreed that no rights to shifting cultivation could be recognized, provision of land for Sakai reserves were thought necessary to prevent the Senoi and Semang from fighting for land. [Harper #404]
1444. 1939. Shifting cultivation in Tapah Hills Reserve. 1/5/1939, DF/259/39, State Archives — part of the debate on granting and enforcing Orang Asli privileges to forest for swiddening purposes and problems accruing from them. On Semai of Batang Padang. [Harper #404]
1445. 1950. Statement taken by Major P. D. R. Williams-Hunt. . .at Paya Senayan, Lipat Kajang Mukim, Temerloh District Pahang from Batin Mat headman of a Semaq Semang community. . .and from Tan, another of the same group at the same place. DO Temerloh/92/50, State Archives — cited by Harper #404 on physical abuse committed by police who were searching for Communist Terrorists.
1446. 1955. Department of Aborigines – Suggested long term policy towards aborigines. 29/10/1955, DF/787/54, State Archives — cited by Harper #404 as identification by Richard Noone (Adviser on Aborigines) of a spectrum of Orang Asli contact with the outside world, with recommendations on what kind of cultural policy to adopt for these different groups.
1447. 1955. Precis (Executive Council, 12/1/1955): Aboriginal Reserve at Langkap, DF/187/54, State Archives — cited by Harper #404; part of the debate during the Emergency on whether Orang Asli lands in forest reserves could be included in an aboriginal reservation. The Protector of Aborigines (cited in this document) opined that Orang Asli rights to these areas should be protected.
1448. 1956–1957. Rights in the forest reserves of Sakais. SFO Perak to Protector of Aborigines, Perak, 28/1/1956; 21/2/1956; A. Hiley, minute, 24/4/1956; minute, 17/6/1956; F. S. Walker to Director of Forestry, 29/6/1956; DO Batang Padang, minute, 25/7/1956; Colin Marshall, Uncontrolled aboriginal cultivation in forest reserve, 20/4/1957, DF/787/54, State Archives — cited by Harper #404; includes complaints by forestry officers over what they saw as uncontrolled and destructive forest use by Orang Asli farmers and the ensuing loss of timber revenue, and protests against making the Tapah Hills an aboriginal reserve.
1449. 1956. Comments by the Acting Director of Forestry on Paper Ref. G/54/3B by the Department of Aborigines on the conflict of interest between the two departments. 7/7/1956, DF/787/54, State Archives — cited by Harper #404 as a senior forester’s agreement (with #1527) that soil erosion was not caused by Orang Asli shifting cultivation.
1450. 1981. Strategi ugama Islam di kalangan masyarakat Orang Asli [Islamic strategies among Orang Asli societies]. Typescript, November 1981. JHEOA, Kuala Lumpur. 31 pp. — working paper to analyze the effectiveness, problems, and expansion of the Islamization programme, in order to achieve the overall objectives of missionizing to the whole Orang Asli population and integration/assimilation of Orang Asli with Malay society. [LTP]
1451. 1983. Strategi perkembangan ugama Islam di kalangan masyarakat Orang Asli [Strategies for Islamic expansion among Orang Asli societies]. Typescript, 27+ pp., February 1983. JHEOA, Kuala Lumpur.
1452. ALIAS b. Alang Segat, and ZAINAL b. Abd. Rahman. 1956. Report of a survey of aboriginal groups in Trengganu—June 1956. DO Kuantan/458/52, State Archives — on the emergence of a group of “extinct” Semoq Beri who had remained aloof from the Emergency, had never met Europeans, security forces, or guerrillas, and spoke no Malay. [Harper #404]
1453. ASSISTANT DISTRICT OFFICER, KUALA KANGSAR. 1947. Census of Sakai. 29/11/1947, KKLO/77/47, State Archives — report of land-dispossesed Semai, showing absence of young or old people. [Harper #404]
1454. BAHARON Azhar bin Raffie’i. 1967. Marketing of Orang Asli produce. Mimeographed report, Jabatan Hal-Ehwal Orang Asli (JHEOA), Kuala Lumpur — discusses general problems of marketing Orang Asli forest products. [ATR #1680]
1455. ——. 1972. Some aspects of the relationship of the Orang Asli and other Malaysians. Mimeographed report, Jabatan Hal-Ehwal Orang Asli (JHEOA), Kuala Lumpur — concluded that because the Orang Asli were almost dependent on the market, they could be said to be integrating into the national economy. [CN #679]
1456. BILES, Howard F. 1956. Aboriginal rubber estates (Pahang). MS. Report to the Department of Aborigines, Kuala Lumpur, 26/6/56 — cited by Dentan & Ong #275 for documentation of Semai rubber plantations.
1457. CARSON, G. L. 1938. A brief investigation into the ladang workings of the Sakai in Sungei Kinta Catchment Areas, Kinta Hills F. R. 24/7/1938, DF/351/38, State Archives — on Batang Padang. Concluded that the area would always be inaccessible for even selective logging, that the actual ladang area (of Semai swiddens) was small, and that there was rapid forest recovery and no erosion. Advocated a policy of non-intervention towards Orang Asli forestry practices in reserve areas. [Harper #404]
1458. CHIPP, Thomas Ford. 1911–1921. Diary, notes and reports on forest administration in Malaya, 1911, including miscellaneous forestry memoranda, 1911–1921. MSS. Brit. Emp. s. 311, Rhodes House Library, Oxford University, Oxford — official diaries, with many references to social and forestry issues in Orang Asli territories that were incorporated into the timber estate. Orang Asli are scarcely mentioned as far as can be determined from a quick perusal; however, valuable for tracing land use changes in the areas concerned. [LTP]
1459. COAC. 1997. Memorandum to the Health Minister: Inputs for investigation into Orang Asli deaths in Sungei Seboi, Pahang on 18/2/1997. Subang Jaya — on the case of wrongful prescription of malarial prophylactics by medical officers. [LTP]
1460. DEL TUFO, M. V. 1949. Malaya, a report of the 1947 census of population. Crown Agents for the Colonies, London — includes a report of the census for aborigines. Argued that aborigines should be subsumed under the “Malay” category. The population total of 34,737 given here was later disputed by Williams-Hunt in #986 (whose own inflated statistics based on aerial surveys were later disputed by other commentators). [LTP; Dorairajoo #280]
1461. DEPARTMENT OF STATISTICS, MALAYSIA. 1997. Profile of the Orang Asli in Peninsular Malaysia. Kuala Lumpur: Population Census Monograph Series no. 3, Department of Statistics — thoroughgoing socio-economic review; includes demography, population profiles, and data on educational achievements and geographic and occupational distributions. [LTP]
1462. DEPARTMENT OF WILDLIFE AND NATIONAL PARKS, MALAYSIA. 1987. Taman Negara Master Plan. Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment, Kuala Lumpur — contains the official departmental policy on the Batek’s tenure in Taman Negara. [LTP]
1463. DODWELL, G. C. 1948. “Aboriginal tribes in Tanjong Malim sub-district”, 20/12/1948, Rhodes House Library, Oxford — cited in Harper #404 concerning debate over the extent to which Orang Asli could be contained within gazetted landholdings and remarks on the aborigines’ involvement in the Emergency.
1464. FEDERAL SECRETARIAT. 1949. Zainal Abidin b. Hj. Abas to Deputy Chief Secretary, 6/4/1948. ADO Selama, minute, May 1948, DOL/789/48 & 49 — letter from the secretary-general of UMNO asking for all Orang Asli reserves to be surveyed and gazetted. [CN #684]
1465. ——. 1950. Williams-Hunt to del Tufo. FS/12072/50, State Archives — cited in Harper #404 for report of the health conditions (including incidence of smallpox) of the Orang Asli resettled at Bkt. Betong.
1466. ——. 1950. Williams-Hunt to Deputy Chief Secretary, FS/12354/50, State Archives — part of Williams-Hunt’s campaign for a general policy for the Orang Asli, as a way to protect cultural autonomy, which was being threatened by the resettlement programmes in the Emergency. [Harper #404]
1467. FELL, H. 1957. Population census of the Federation of Malaya 1957. Kuala Lumpur: Report no. 14, Department of Statistics — contains “Instructions to enumerators of aborigines in deep jungle” as well as the census data itself. Though Orang Asli were subsumed under the general category of “Other Malaysians”, provides a table showing breakdown for Indonesians and Aborigines. [Dorairajoo #280]
1468. FDTCP-BETAU. 1979. Betau: Development plan—Orang Asli Regroupment Scheme. Federal Department of Town and Country Planning, Kuala Lumpur — official plans for the well-known and oft-studied Semai resettlement area. [LTP]
1501. GOULDSBURY, Pamela. 1955. Aboriginal group resettled at 7th mile Tanjong Malim. Unpublished MS. Department of Aborigines, Kuala Lumpur — an oft-cited document in Semai studies. [LTP]
1502. GOVERNMENT OF MALAYSIA. Act 134: Aboriginal peoples ordinance, no. 3, 1954, amended in 1967 and 1974 — probably the single most important piece of legislation relating to Orang Asli administration, the passing of which was a watershed moment in Orang Asli history. Most of it pertains to land. Though containing paternalistic provisions and assumptions, recognizes the basic right of the Orang Asli to maintain cultural autonomy. [LTP; CN]
1503. ——. Protection of Wildlife Act of 1972 — the Act systematizes the programme of protecting threatened species and wildlife generally; prohibits the hunting of wildlife. Part V, section 52 permits Orang Asli to shoot, kill, or otherwise procure game for food. [LTP]
1504. ——. National Forestry Act of 1984 — federal legislation that has been adopted by the states. Provides for the administration, management and conservation of forests and forestry development. Of significance to Orang Asli is the provision that all products from forests are the property of the state and the prohibition against unlicensed taking of such products. [Lim #570]
1505. HASAN Mat Nor. 1997. Kajian keciciran kalangan pelajar Orang Asli peringkat sekolah rendah [Study of dropout problem among Orang Asli primary school pupils]. Jabatan Anthropologi dan Sosiologi, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi, Selangor. Report submitted to JHEOA — a controversial report that adopts the premises of JHEOA as a basis for investigation. [LTP]
1506. IKRAM Jamaluddin. 1997. Kenyataan Ketua Pengarah Jabatan Hal Ehwal Orang Asli Malaysia pada perjumpaan dengan wakil-wakil media massa [Statement of the JHEOA Director at a meeting with press representatives]. Typescript, 31/10/1997. JHEOA, Kuala Lumpur — 34-page statement released on Ikram’s final day as Director-General, in which he redefines the notion of Orang Asli, criticizes Christian missionaries, charges researchers like RKD, KME, and CN of wilful biases and untoward criticism of the government, and outlines JHEOA activities during his tenure [CN]. For CN’s rebuttal, see: “Distorting the facts: Who is guilty of distorting the truth about the Orang Asli?”, AM vol. 18 (February 1998), pp. 14–18. See also: Ikram’s reply to the Nicholas letter, “Orang Asli: The truth will prevail”, AM vol. 18 (April 1998), pp. 29–30, “Colin Nicholas responds” in the same (April) issue, and RKD’s rebuttal of Ikram in AM vol. 18 (July 1998), pp. 26–27.
1507. JHEOA. 1961. Statement of Policy Regarding the Long-Term Administration of the Aborigine Peoples in the Federation of Malaya. Issued by the then Ministry of the Interior on 20/11/1961 — identifies several broad principles to be adopted to provide for the protection and advancement of the Orang Asli. Next to the Aboriginal Peoples Act of 1954, this is probably the most critical policy document [LTP]. Updated in 1977 with no fundamental change.
1508. ——. 1964. The Senoi Pra’aq Regiment and the Bamboo Operational Area of Perak and Kelantan — List of papers: Noone#1528, Mohd. Ruslan #1521–1522.
1509. ——. Distribution of Orang Asli for 1986 and 1987. Unpublished MSS. Department of Orang Asli Affairs, Kuala Lumpur — though these references are all that exists in our database, there are likely to be more in JHEOA files. [LTP]
1510. ——. Data tanah Orang Asli [Data on Orang Asli land] for 1990 and 1992. Jabatan Hal-Ehwal Orang Asli (JHEOA), Kuala Lumpur. [see note for #1509]
1511. ——. 1990. Pendaftaran pemilih Orang Asli [Registration of Orang Asli voters]. Jabatan Hal-Ehwal Orang Asli (JHEOA), Kuala Lumpur.
1512. ——. 1993. Garis panduan prosedur perlantikan Batin dan Penghulu Orang Asli Kategori B dan C [Procedural guidelines for the appointment of Orang Asli Categories B and C Batin and Penghulu]. Jabatan Hal-Ehwal Orang Asli (JHEOA), Kuala Lumpur.
1513. ——. 1997. Data anutan agama bagi Orang Asli mengikut negeri dan daerah seluruh Semenanjung Malaysia [Data on the religions of Orang Asli by state and district for the whole of Peninsular Malaysia], 13/8/1997. Bahagian Penyelidikan dan Penerangan, Jabatan Hal-Ehwal Orang Asli (JHEOA), Kuala Lumpur.
1514. ——. 1997. Deraf data kelasikafikasi kampung perkampungan Orang Asli [Draft data on the classification of Orang Asli villages]. Jabatan Hal-Ehwal Orang Asli (JHEOA), Kuala Lumpur.
1515. ——. 1997. Pelan strategi pembangunan Orang Asli 1997–2005 [Strategic plan for Orang Asli development, 1997–2005], June 1997. Jabatan Hal-Ehwal Orang Asli (JHEOA), Kuala Lumpur.
1516. ——. 1999. Syarat-syarat menjalankan kajian/penyelidekan di perkampungan Orang Asli yang telah diluluskan oleh JHEOA [Instructions for the conduct of JHEOA-approved studies/research in Orang Asli villages], March 1999. Jabatan Hal-Ehwal Orang Asli (JHEOA), Kuala Lumpur.
1517. JAWATANKUASA BEKERJA PEMBANGUNAN SENATOR ORANG ASLI PERAK DARUL RIDZUAN. 1994. Orientasi dan perspektif pembangunan masyarakat Orang Asli Perak Darul Ridzuan dalam menghadapi cabaran Wawasan 2020 [Development orientation and perspectives of Orang Asli societies in Perak, in confronting the challenges of Vision 2020]. In co-operation with Jabatan Perancangan Bandar dan Desa, Perak Darul Ridzuan, Ipoh — memorandum directed to the Perak State Government initiated by the then Orang Asli senator, Itam Wali, with help from Orang Asli intellectuals from Perak. Examines issues pertaining to Orang Asli development including land tenure rights, infrastructure development, health, education, culture and politics. [CN]
1518. JAWATANKUASA BEKERJA POASM/Senator Orang Asli. 1991. Pembangunan Orang Asli dalam konteks Wawasan 2020 [The development of Orang Asli in the context of Vision 2020]. POASM, Kuala Lumpur. 42 pp. — memorandum to the Government prepared by the then sitting Orang Asli senator, Itam Wali, and a group of Orang Asli intellectuals. Discusses Orang Asli aspirations in the fields of constituional and legal rights, economic development, land rights, inftrastructure, education, health, culture and religion and politics. [CN]
1519. JIMIN b. Idris. 1972. A brief note on the Orang Asli of West Malaysia and their administration. Unpublished MS. Jabatan Hal Ehwal Orang Asli, Kuala Lumpur — cited in Ali Rachman #61 for data on Temuan leadership.
1520. JIMIN b. Idris, MOHD. TAP Salleh, JAILANI M. Dom, ABD. HALIM Jawi, and MOHD. RAZIM Shafie. 1983. Planning and administration of development programmes for tribal peoples (The Malaysian setting). CIRDAP country report, Malaysia. Jabatan Hal-Ehwal Orang Asli, Kuala Lumpur — revealing and much-cited report on the government’s approach to Orang Asli development, written by senior JHEOA officers and considered a definitive position statement [LTP].
1521. MOHD. RUSLAN b. Abdullah. 1963. Operation Bamboo and the Trans-Malayan Thai Border problems. Section II of #1508.
1522. ——. 1964. Future of the Senoi Pra’aq. Section III of #1508.
1523. ——. 1974. Review and notes on policy and development. Report; 141 pp., March 1974. Department of Orang Asli Affairs, Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur.
1524. MUSA Hitam. 1994. Speech of the Malaysian permanent representative, 16/2/1994. United Nations Commission on Human Rights, New York.
1525. NG Man San, Kate VAN, and Jean PALA. 1987. Demographic situation of the aborigines in Malaysia. Department of Statistics, Kuala Lumpur.
1526. NIK HASSAN b. Dato’ Hj. Nik Yusoff, and AMIRUDDIN b. Jaafar. 1976. Dakwah Islamiah dikalangan Orang Orang Asli negeri Pahang dan Terengganu [Islamic conversion among Orang Asli of Pahang and Terengganu]. Typescript, 18/11/1976. JHEOA, Pahang and Terengganu, Kuantan, Pahang. 14 pp. + appendices — reports results of a meeting between the JHEOA Director for Pahang/Trengganu (the lead author) and officials from the Islamic Affairs Department of Pahang, to discuss conversion programmes for Pahang and Trengganu Orang Asli. [LTP]
1527. NOONE, R. O. D. 1956. A note on the conflict of interest between the Forestry Department and the Department of Aborigines as exemplified by the Forest Enactment Cap. 153 and the Aboriginal Peoples Ordinance Cap. 3/54. 24/3/1956, DF/787/54, State Archives — cited in Harper #404 as a defense of the aboriginal reserves on grounds that the lands were already Orang Asli property. Argued that Orang Asli swidden farming did not destroy the forest as popularly believed; they did not cut forest indiscriminately and their lands tended to be in high areas unsuitable for timber extraction.
1528. ——. 1961. Communist subversion of the hill tribes (lessons learned during the Emergency in Malaya). Section 1 of #1508 — takes a hard look at the role played (and devastation caused) by the Department of Aborigines and the military forces in the lives of Orang Asli during the Emergency. Suggests ways to “win over the hearts and minds” of the Orang Asli and discusses the establishment of the Senoi Pra’aq regiment. [CN]
1529. PERTUBUHAN KEBAJIKAN ISLAM MALAYSIA (PERKIM). 1980. Resolusi: Seminar dakwah Islamiah di kalangan Orang Asli Malaysia [Resolution: Seminar on Islamic conversion among Orang Asli of Malaysia]. Typescript, 98 pp., 21–23 May, 1980. University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur.
1530. Population census of Orang Asli. A comprehensive list of the years for which Orang Asli population figures were compiled at national-level is not available. A select list, with cross-reference to relevant presentations and discussions listed elsewhere here, follows: 1881 (Dorairajoo #280); 1891 (Dorairajoo #280); 1901 (Rusell #1534); 1911 (Poutney #1531); 1921 (Winsetdt #991); 1931 (Vlieland #1545); 1947 (Del Tufo #1492); 1957 (Fell #1499); 1960 (Gomes #1679); 1965 (Jimin #490); 1969 (Gomes #1679); 1974 (Gomes #1679); 1987 (Ng et al. #1525); 1997 (Department of Statistics #1493). [LTP]
1531. POUTNEY, A. M. 1911. The census of the Federated Malay States, 1911: Review of the census operations and results. London: Darlington and Sons Ltd — has the first ever “Sakai census”, in which the classification of groups was adopted from #Skagden. The crude nature of the census operations is revealed in the “test” of which ethnic group a people belonged in: by comparing ten words elicited in the field with wordlists already matched to named groups by anthropologists and linguists. [Dorairajoo #280]
1532. RAJA Ajoub. 1950. Note. 28/4/1950, FS/12665/50, State Archives — cited in Harper #404 as reporting mortality rates after Orang Asli were resettled at Semenyih.
1533. RAZALI Ismail. 1993. “Creating an equal world.” Speech of Malaysia’s Permanent Representative at the launch of the International Year for the World’s Indigenous People, 14/12/1992. Reproduced in Sunday Star 3/1/1993 — unveiled current governmental perception of Orang Asli: that Orang Asli and Malays originated together, but Malays are those who left the forest and chose the path of modernization. [CN #686]
1534. RUSELL, J. 1902. 1901 census of population, Federated Malay States. Government Printers, Kuala Lumpur — population numbers for aborigines are extracted in #Skagden. Skeat warns that there is at least one clerical error in the census. [LTP]
1535. SELANGOR STATE SECRETARIAT. 1895. Minutes on Sel. Sec/2852/1895, State Archives — cited in Harper #404 as reporting the British Resident’s dismissal of Orang Asli who protested the appropriation of their fruit trees. The Resident stated that Orang Asli could not look after their own interests and should be treated as children.
1536. ——. 1901. DO Kuala Lumpur, minute, 27/11/1901, Sel. Sec/6580/01, State Archives — cited in Harper #404 as reporting advice given to the British Resident not to believe Orang Asli’s claims to ownership of forest crops.
1537. ——. 1946. Enclosure in RC Sel./677/46 State Archives — cited in Harper #404 as reporting famine and the “borderline starvation” conditions of Temuan at Sg. Buloh, whose land had been appropriated by Chinese squatters.
1538. ——. 1949. Appointment of Sakai headmen. 1/6/1950; Mubin Sheppard to State Secretary, 14/12/1949 and Williams-Hunt’s reply, 16/1/1950; A note on the recognition and appointment of headmen for aboriginal ethnic groups and communities, July 1950, Sel. Sec/2907/49, State Archives — on the Orang Asli leaders possessing certificates of appointment granted by government officials.
1539. ——. 1950. R. C. Sel./1411/50, State Archives — cited in Leary #558 for evidence of close relationships between the MRLA (the armed forces of the Communist Party of Malaya) and the Orang Asli.
1540. SFO (State Forest Office), Perak. 1941. 28/10/1941, DF/57/40, State Archives — cited in Harper #404 on the rejection of reapplication by Orang Asli for tin-washing rights, on grounds that they were unfitted for commercial ventures and would inevitably be cheated.
1541. SPELDEWINDE, D. 1948. Diary of D. Speldewinde. DF/375/46, State Archives — cited in Harper #404 concerning a case in Behrang Forest Reserve where the Semai had sublet rubber to Chinese settlers; when a summons was issued, a headman appeared as defence witness, stating that he had given the Chinese permission to clear land. With observations of the alleged involvement of Nabitoepoeloe, the Batak missionary, to secure land for Communist Terrorists through the Orang Asli.
1542. STATE OF PERAK. 1889. Perak Government Gazette — cited in Gullick #398 for evidence that Malays tapped Orang Asli knowledge in selecting potential mining sites. [CN #684]
1543. ——. 1894. Perak Government Gazette — cited in Gullick #398 for evidence that Malays tapped Orang Asli knowledge in selecting potential mining sites. [CN #684]
1544. ——. 1939. Enactment no. 3 of 1939. The Government Gazettes of the Federated Malay States and of each of the States of Perak, Selangor, Negri Sembilan and Pahang of 13/10/1939, no. 22, Vol. XXXI, Notification no. 4967 — introduced by H. D. Noone; formed the basis for the Aboriginal Peoples Ordinance 1954 (#1502). Based largely on the provisions Noone outlined in #698. [CN #684]
1545. VLIELAND, C. A. 1932. British Malaya: A report on the 1931 census and on certain problems of vital statistics. London: Crown Agents for the Colonies — Orang Asli are here classified under “Other Malaysians” (i.e., non-Malay). [Dorairajoo #280]
1546. WAN HUSSEIN Azmi. 1980. Cara dakwah yang berkesaan di kalangan masyarakat belum berugama dan gulungan minoriti [Effective methods of conversion among pre-religion societies and ethnic minorities]. 13/5/1980. 18 pp. Bangi, Selangor: Working Paper, Faculty of Islamic Studies, University Kebangsaan Malaysia — on how to tighten relationship between Malays and indigenes (described as groups that do not yet have religions) through Islamic conversion that follows Islamic principles. “Pre-religion” peoples (i.e., heathens) are subdivided between animists, ancestral worshippers, and atheists. [LTP]
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