Forest Reserves as Frontiers of Indigeneity: Semai Orang Asli Investments of Work, Cultural Use, and Identity in the Bukit Tapah Forest Reserve

Abstract

At less than one percent of Malaysia’s total population, the Orang Asli (Peninsular Malaysia’s Indigenous Peoples) lack political clout; state nonrecognition of their land rights constitutes a fundamental reason for the economic and social ills faced by their communities. This article examines the protection of Semai Orang Asli customary territories from a cultural heritage perspective. Drawing on a study of traditional place-names and oral history, it describes how forests, other than existing as the Semai ancestral domain, continue to be the lifeblood of Semai culture and economic production. The paper examines state-owned forest reserves and the role these play in Semai cultural continuity, including traditional livelihoods such as agroforestry and swidden agriculture. Forest reserves are on the frontier of resource extraction and forest conservation in Malaysia; however, because these comprise the customary territories of Orang Asli, they also signify the frontier of forest-dependent Indigeneity. The paper weaves a narrative of Semai forest dependence, and concludes with a discussion of the prospects for a World Heritage Cultural Landscape (WHCL) designation as a possible avenue for protecting Semai customary territories.