(Oct 23): The contents of Budget 2016 about the Orang Asal are unrealistic under the current economic climate, the Indigenous Peoples Network of Malaysia said tonight.

The allocation of RM29.2 billion for the Orang Asal in Sabah and Sarawak was “deceiving at best and, at worst, blatantly buying rural votes”, added the group.

“We are no fools,” Jannie Lasimbang, the group’s Sabah-based chair, said in a statement.

She said the group also criticised the continuous handouts to the Orang Asal which it viewed as “a patronising move, short-sighted and without consideration” of the urgent long-term changes needed, such as revamping the education system to make it more culturally-appropriate for the community.

“We have no confidence in the administration of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and his cabinet, and therefore reject this budget,” Lasimbang added.

Najib, in the budget speech today, said RM300 million was proposed to improve the welfare and development of the Orang Asal.

Among the areas of focus are education with RM45 million to be spent on supplementary food assistance, pocket money and school transport fares.

Under the budget, Najib said RM80 million would be for the development of integrated villages including in Sungai Siput, Perak, which involved the construction of connecting roads and the provision of electricity and treated water supply.

Another RM25 million would go to the development of rubber and oil palm plantations, as well as cash crops, to further improve the community's standard of living.

Under the house ownership programmes for all levels of income, he said RM60 million was allocated to the Orang Asal Development Department, particularly for building houses for the community. – The Malaysian Insider