Comments on: Parameswara in Seletar, c.1402!

By: Orang Seletar

Orang Seletar — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 05:32:15 +0000

The fate of Orang Seletar, the indigenous sea people of coastal johore is uncertain. Worst when they were caught in hard-core poverty line while still carry on their tradiational food gathering activities along the already polluted coastal line. Their resettlement land belongs to be Sultan but the pressure of urbanisation by Iskandar development might forced them to be relocated once again. Who is there to defend their rights? no one.

By: susanamy

susanamy — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 12:28:23 +0000

Thank you for this comment. As mentioned in my article, I knew the descendants of Orang Seletar to be in Johor, but didn’t link it to that particular place on the Skudai River. This is at the heart of Plan B in the Iskandar Development which is moving on apace. Everything around there is being disturbed. Does anyone know if something is being done for the Orang Seletar and the wildlife there?

By: Orang Seletar

Orang Seletar — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 04:45:45 +0000

Orang Seletar was once sea pirates turned Navy for the Straits for Malacca and Johore, guarding the seas along the spice trading route. They historical constribution were recognised by the Johore Kingdom, where when they were chased away from Seletar, their original village, to make way for the british airport and currently Seletar Reservoir, they were given places to resite along the coastal zones along Straits of Johore. Now, some resite in Sungai Danga, Kukup and etc, but there’s one special estuary, where Skudai River and Danga River meets the open seas at Johore Straits, where the once lush mangrove rich with various sealives, is Kampung Bakar Batu. There, a small village of Seletar Natives lives and is at treat due to modernisation and construction of a new highway which cuts through the bottle neck where these two rivers were side by side. The polluted waters kills the existing ecology which subsequently impact the living of Seletar Natives which rely entirely on their surrounding environment. Brutal and inconsidered modernisation kills heritage, and no one gives a damn. The history is about to repeat itself, and are we going to let this happen again?