Malaysia plans to lift the nation's "Orang Asli" indigenous people out of poverty under a strategy to create new livelihoods and change attitudes, reports said yesterday.

Deputy Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak said the idea was to give the disadvantaged community a "fishing rod" rather than just handing out "fish", in order to make them independent in the long term.

Najib said after opening an Orang Asli association meeting yesterday that the priority would be to establish an economic base for the community, and suggested the planting of cash crops such as oil palm and rubber.

"It's a question of sustainable income, not land area. So, under the comprehensive development concept we will determine the suitable land area to ensure that their income is above the poverty line," he said according to the Bernama news agency.

Education opportunities

"And we want to encourage the Orang Asli community to become entrepreneurs, albeit small-time operators, in fields like the handicraft industry, food production and any agro-based activities that they can carry out," he said.

The minister said the project, which will also include boosting education opportunities for Orang Asli children, was in line with the government's promise to eradicate extreme poverty nationwide by 2010.

The Orang Asli, the original inhabitants of Malaysia, make up less than one percent of the population and are disadvantaged in terms of income, health, education and living standards.

Najib side-stepped the controversial issue of land ownership for the Orang Asli, saying the government would first deal with providing new avenues for them to increase their income. (Pictures by Colin Nicholas)