Malaysia Looks to Aotearoa for Indigenous Rights Reform

The Malaysian government is looking towards Aotearoa’s own development of laws and practices for protecting Māori rights as it creates protections for its own indigenous people.

“New Zealand’s progress, especially its recognition of the Treaty of Waitangi and the institutions built around it, is seen as a valuable reference point,” says Malaysia High Commissioner Mazita Marzuki. “The aim is to adapt relevant best practices to suit Malaysia’s context.”

The government is looking to ‘re-examine’ its Aboriginal Peoples Act 1954 (Act 134), as announced by Malaysia's Deputy Prime Minister, Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, earlier this year.

In July 2025, Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi visited New Zealand to strengthen bilateral cooperation and study Aotearoa’s indigenous development models. Image: High Commission of Malaysia

The Act, which provides legal protection for Malaysia’s indigenous population, the Orang Asli, has not been reviewed since its inception in 1954.

While visiting New Zealand in late July, Hamidi said his government would draw inspiration from Aotearoa’s own “Māori empowerment model,” specifically focusing on land ownership rights, inclusive access to education, and specific funding to support indigenous entrepreneurship and business. 

He met with the Minister for Māori Development, Tama Potaka, where ‘avenues for bilateral cooperation in indigenous community development’ were opened. Zahid visited the Whakarewarewa traditional Māori village in Rotorua, noting how it had become a world-class tourism destination. He saw the same potential if similar models were developed in Orang Asli settlements, such as the information centre to support Orang Asli already being designed in Melaka.

“New Zealand also expressed strong willingness to collaborate with Malaysia in areas such as student and community leader exchanges, cultural and language cooperation, and indigenous tourism development,” Marzuki said. 

New Zealand is often seen as a world leader in ways to recognise and protect indigenous peoples. Te Puni Kōkiri, the Ministry of Māori Development, regularly receives requests from foreign governments wanting to learn from the New Zealand experience, TPK spokesperson Angela Paul said. 

Just this year, New Zealand partnered with the United Nations and the Philippines to fund a program improving governance and resource management of ancestral lands of the Mindanao population. The initiative builds on people-to-people links between Māori and Philippine indigenous peoples.

Reciprocity is always encouraged between governments, Paul said, where indigenous to indigenous engagement results in shared learning. 

“MFAT values the opportunity to exchange information and insights on these issues with other nations. New Zealand’s unique history and experiences provide us with an opportunity to share and learn from other countries,” an MFAT spokesperson added.

Amendments to the Act are at the preliminary draft stage, with stakeholder engagement from the Orang Asli community. Zahid said New Zealand’s approach would need to be adapted to suit the needs of the Orang Asli community in Malaysia.

“The aim of the amendment is not to deny rights, but to strengthen protection for the Orang Asli community,” Hamidi said.

Malaysia’s Ministry of Rural and Regional Development and the Department of Indigenous Peoples’ Development have previously visited New Zealand during a benchmark visit in March.   

That visit focused on specifically studying New Zealand’s governance and legal frameworks concerning the Māori community, Marzuki explained.

Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi was welcomed by Tūhourangi Ngāti Wāhiao and Te Arawa at Te Pākira Marae in Rotorua — the first official visit by a Malaysian leader to Aotearoa in 20 years. July 2025. Image: High Commission of Malaysia

Meeting with Te Puni Kōkiri officials, information was shared on the Māori Land Court and Waitangi Tribunal’s role in addressing land rights and historical grievances; the Māori Council’s role in advocacy and policy influence, and revitalising te Reo Māori and preserving indigenous cultures.

The importance of inclusive governance and Treaty settlement mechanisms was also discussed.

Land settlements were among the key issues discussed during a Special Meeting of the Orang Asli Consultative Council held in August.

“I believe land rights are not merely about physical ownership,” Zahid said during the special meeting. “They represent dignity, the continuity of heritage and a key to the socioeconomic advancement of this community.”

More than 225,000 Orang Asli are recorded as living in West Malaysia. The 18 Orang Asli tribes make up just 0.8% of the country’s total population. 

It has been acknowledged Malaysia’s indigenous people have continuously been denied rights under the Aboriginal Peoples Act and Malaysia’s Federal Constitution, specifically those rights concerning land. There have been many situations where Orang Alsi land has been sold by the state government without their consent or knowledge. Treated as squatters, they have then been forced to abandon their homes. 

When the Constitution was founded, the Orang Asli people were left out, Lawyer and activist Siti Kasim said during an interview with NGO Aliran. The term bumiputera, translating to ‘sons of the soil’, did not specifically refer to the original people of Malaysia, so it was assumed the word referred to non-indigenous ‘Malays’ only. “The Orang Asli had simply been forgotten,” Kasim continued.

“The Aboriginal Act also has structural flaws,” previous vice-chairman of Malaysia’s Human Rights Commission, Tunku Mohamed Fauzi Hamid, said in the same interview.

This includes a lack of recognition of customary land rights and adequate legal protection for ancestral territories, too much executive discretion that can override community consent, limited procedural safeguards for consultation, and no clear statutory ruling on free, prior and informed consent.

“The Act is widely considered ineffective. It’s a colonial legacy, and the nature of the act is very restrictive,” Kasim added.

The Human Rights Commission of Malaysia has called on its government to establish an independent national commission on indigenous people. “If the government are serious in trying to make our Orang Asli lives better, there are many ideas out there,” Kasim said.

Further work to improve the welfare and rights of Orang Asli people already includes the establishment of the Orang Asli Business Council, a microcredit scheme to support indigenous entrepreneurship, and establishing an institute dedicated to Orang Asli higher education.

“While Malaysia does not intend to replicate New Zealand’s laws directly, elements such as legal protections for indigenous land, inclusive governance structures, and cultural preservation policies are being carefully studied as useful references,” Marzuki said.

Zahid expects the draft amendments for the Aboriginal Peoples Act to be tabled in the March session of Parliament next year. 

-Asia Media Centre