Orang Asli women cry out “Tiada tanah tiada kita”

At the Wanita Suara Perubahan rally held in Petaling Jaya on the 18th of March, some 20 Orang Asli clearly stood out from the 4000 crowd with their head gears and shouts of ‘tiada tanah tiada kami’ (Without our land, we don’t exist), while they marched alongside other Malaysian women demanding for fair elections, no corruption, fair wages, better quality of life and no violence against women.

Led by Fatimah Bahsen, the chief of the NGO called Peninsular Aborigines Village Network, the group garnered good moral support and encouragement from the rest of the women.

On stage, Fatimah calls for the return of NCR land to the Orang Asli and the racist labeling of Orang Asli under the category ‘dan lain lain’ meaning ‘and others’, in contrast to other Malaysians who are classified as Malays, Indians or Chinese.