As Mah Meri tribe's plight gains sympathy, MB disputes accuracy of news reports

Selangor Menteri Besar Amirudin Shari has disputed the accuracy of news reports which claimed that a Mah Meri tribe was about to be displaced by a state-owned company.

Responding to a tweet by singer Yuna yesterday, who has come to the tribe's defence, Amirudin said that the tribe did not object to the eviction and had instead written to the landowners to seek a time extension to comply with the eviction order.

"While the state government respects the right to opinion and press freedom, the headline of the article is not true. The state government has been engaging with the Mah Meri community.

"Proper notice, balance consideration and a humane idea of development will be given utmost importance," he wrote in Twitter, while attaching a statement by Permodalan Negeri Selangor Bhd (PNSB) on the matter.

Yesterday, numerous netizens had rallied behind a Mah Meri community in the coastal area of Bagan Lalang who were allegedly facing eviction by PNSB to make way for a holiday resort in the midst of a pandemic and without compensation.

Yuna had compared the Mah Meri community's plight to that of displaced Palestinians and urged Malaysians to sign a petition against the eviction order.

In response to these criticisms, Amirudin has been actively replying to various netizens, claiming that the eviction site was not a Mah Meri village but was instead a "temporary post" and the affected community had acknowledged the eviction notice.

PNSB had claimed that they have engaged the settlers in November 2020 and on April 12 this year before an eviction notice was issued on April 20.

Meanwhile, Dusun Tua assemblyperson Edry Faizal weighed in on the issue by claiming that the land in question was not "Orang Asli customary rights land".

Edry, who claimed to have experience managing similar disputes in his constituency, urged critics to comb through the facts before making statements.

"When it comes to land matters (involving the Orang Asli), there is usually a lot of negotiations and efforts behind the scene," he said.