by : JOAS Secretariat
500 Orang Asal From The
Malaysian States Gather To Celebrate The World Indigenous Peoples Day In Pahang
Jaringan Orang Asal
Semalaysia (JOAS) organised a World Indigenous Peoples Day Celebration at
Kampung Orang Asli Pian in Kuala Krau attended by 500 indigenous people from
Sabah, Sarawak and Pensinsular Malaysia.
The event is being hosted
in a traditional Orang Asli Jahut village setting from 8-11 August 2013. Since
1994, the UN’s International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples or Perayaan
Hari Orang Asal SeDunia (PHOAS) has been observed on August 9 each year to
promote and protect the rights of the world’s indigenous populations. To honor
the international agreement, Miss Michelle Gyles-McDonnough, the United Nations’
resident coordinator was in attendance during the celebration’s opening
ceremony.
Miss Gyles-McDonnough
emphasized that the UN recognises the rights of the Indigenous Peoples through
the United Nation Declaration on the Rights of the Indigenous People
(UNDRIP). These include rights to land,
the freedom to practice traditional livelihoods, to preserve and practice
indigenous languages, as well as basic human rights such as access to
healthcare, education and citizenship. “The UN will work to ensure that states’
behaviors and policies are consistent with the UNDRIP. Let us work together to support our
aspirations. Let us work together to
build a world that celebrates diversity, conserves our natural wealth, and
allows us to realize our full potential,” said Miss Gyles-McDonnough.
The event Chairperson, Mr.
Yusri Ahon stated, “our ancestral land is the foundation of our existence: we plant
rice, vegetables, and hunt for our food in the forest, we depend on the forest
for our traditional medicine”. In his
statement, Mr. Ahon likened forest livelihoods to the way in which urban
populations depend on supermarkets and clinics.
Highlights of the event
included a blessing ceremony delivered by a Jahut Orang Asli elder,
demonstrations of the preparations of traditional foods, various workshops,
handicraft-making, and a traditional sports competition.
The theme adopted by JOAS
this year is 'Memantapkan Warisan Orang Asal / Continuing the Indigenous
Heritage'. The official UN theme is: 'Indigenous peoples building
alliances: Honouring treaties, agreements, and other constructive arrangements'.
Both indigenous and non-indigenous peoples play key roles in making treaties 'living
documents' in their own communities, by establishing new ways to live together,
building respect for one another, and cooperating in the pursuit of common
goals.
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