On Jun 12, 2026, more than 1500 Orang Asli and Asal (OA) community members marched to the doorstep of the Ministry of Rural and Regional Development (KKDW) in Putrajaya. They stood united to demand immediate action on the recognition, respect, and protection of their customary land rights, or Tanah dan Wilayah Adat.
What exactly is Tanah dan Wilayah Adat?
Tanah Adat (Customary Land) refers to territories traditionally owned, managed, and inhabited by Indigenous Peoples according to their customary laws (adat). Rather than being defined by commercial property deeds, this relationship with the land is rooted in generations of ancestral stewardship, culture, and deep ecological knowledge. Legal recognition to Tanah Adat will gives communities the statutory authority to defend their land and to say no to destructive and extractive projects, and enforce community-led conservation frameworks.
Why must we support the recognition of Tanah Adat?
Studies show that deforestation rates inside legally recognised Tanah Adat are 2 to 3 times lower than in state-managed or unprotected areas.
Where traditional communities are empowered to uphold strong stewardship, the forest stands. Where the state refuses to recognise those rights and hands out corporate concessions, deforestation skyrockets.
