Orang asli seek compensation for farms damaged by landslide

GUA MUSANG: Approximately 300 orang asli in Kampung Sangwai, Pos Brooke here, whose fruit trees were destroyed by recent landslide, are demanding compensation from a vegetable growing company for their losses.
The villagers claimed that the landslide was caused by the vegetable farming that was carried out on the hill near their 0.4ha fruit farms.
A villager, Kamarudin Uda, 47, said the residents were disappointed that until now the company involved had not fulfilled its promises even though its representatives had come to the village before to discuss on the issue.
"The villagers are frustrated because the farms that we planted with more than 200 fruit trees including durian, rambutan and dokong over the past 20 years have been destroyed by the landslide," he told reporters here today.
Kamarudin said the villagers did not set any amount for the compensation and left it to the company to decide.
"They need to be aware of our problems because we had lost our source of income due to the landslide," he said.
Meanwhile, Kelantan orang asli chief penghulu Bidi Ronggeng said he hoped that the matter would be solved in the best possible way. — Bernama