Indigenous Land Rights and the Marginalization of the Orang Asli in Malaysia

Although the Orang Asli are the original, indigenous peoples of Peninsular Malaysia, they have been largely excluded from the country's economic growth of recent decades. Rather than protect this marginalized community, state officials and private agencies regularly exploit the Orang Asli and their ancestral lands. Given that many of the Orang Asli's prevailing challenges stem from their lack of customary land ownership, systemic change must come from the legislative level.