Compensation for Orang Asli native land in Malaysia: The perceptions and challenges in its quantification

This paper describes the results of an investigation on the challenges confronting valuers in dealing with the assessment of compensation for Orang Asli native land (OANL), In Malaysia, valuers are often ambivalent about assessing the worth of Orang Asli property rights; this is because the conventional valuation toolkits are ill-equipped to cope with the multi-faceted issues involved in valuing such lands. Orang Asli view the worth of their lands from a multitude of dimensions (spiritual, cultural, communal and economic), and this often takes the value consideration far beyond that contemplated by private registered land owners. The study also looks into the compensation for native titles in other countries and draws local parallel to the problem. The key issues that have been identified include the valuation approaches; land rights; monetary and nonmonetary compensation; legal framework and; negotiation for compensation. These lead to the recommendation that the compensation issue for Orang Asli native land is need of a legislative reform.