By Asia Samachar | Malaysia |
A Sikh anthropologist is playing a key role in helping marginalised Orang Asli communities air their grievances and present their concerns over impending amendments to legislation critical to Malaysia’s indigenous peoples.
Prof Dr Sarjit Singh Darshan Singh of Universiti Putra Malaysia was the prime mover behind a dialogue that brought together key Orang Asli leaders to discuss concerns surrounding the Aboriginal Peoples Act 1954.
“The dialogue provides them a platform to raise their concerns. These are voices of prominent Orang Asli,” he told Asia Samachar.
On April 23, UPM and Akademi Profesor Malaysia organised a one-day dialogue featuring Orang Asli lawyer and activist Amani William-Hunt and indigenous community development worker Ita Bah Nan. They were joined by former Orang Asli senators Ajis Sitin and Isa Ab Hamid as well as and Zamri Berahim from Foundation for Community Studies and Development (Focused).
In November 2025, the Ministry of Rural and Regional Development, led by Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, presented proposed amendments to the Aboriginal Peoples Act 1954 at the 82nd National Land Council meeting. The proposed changes, covering administration, education and land affairs, were aimed at ensuring “more orderly and inclusive land governance”, he said at the time.
Dr Sarjit Singh, who made history in 2021 as the first Sikh nominated to the UPM senate, is an expert in minority studies with a specialisation in Malaysia’s Sikh community.
Over the years, he has broadened his research into other minority ethnic communities, including Orang Asli groups in Peninsular Malaysia as well as selected indigenous communities in Sabah and Sarawak.
“We engage them [the Orang Asli] to understand their plight. When we attend meetings at government agencies, we raise their voices and concerns,” he said.
Studies have shown that several marginalised communities, including the Orang Asli in Peninsular Malaysia and indigenous minorities in Sabah and Sarawak, continue to lag behind mainstream society in modern Malaysia, recording lower outcomes across many social, political and economic indicators compared with the national average.
Dr Sarjit, who continues to serve in the UPM senate, is also serving on a Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission consultative panel and is an expert reference on history curriculum and textbooks for Ministry of Education Malaysia.
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