The indigenous people in Malaysia have been building barriers on jungle trails as one of their earliest forms of defense mechanisms against deforestation. The method has been used by the Orang Asli and Orang Asal in Malaysia, since the 1980s.

Recently, the Temiar community near Gua Musang, Kelantan, have set up blockades to protect their ancestral land from logging companies. Over 50 of them were arrested last week following a standoff resulting from this move.

Ahead of the World Human Rights Day tomorrow, we explore the plight of the Orang Asli community at the Balah Forest Reserve. This is where over 200 people, including women and children are battling multi million dollar deforestation projects with blockades made from basic materials like bamboo, wood and rattan.

This is a report by Shawn Tanis.

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Tags:  gua musang,  Kelantan,  Orang Asli,  temiar,  blockade,  logging