KUALA LUMPUR - MALAYSIA'S government plans to grant ownership of farming land to indigenous people for the first time in a bid to improve the lives of impoverished tribal communities, an official said on Wednesday.

About 20,000 families from Malaysia's Orang Asli tribes will obtain permanent ownership of nearly 50,000 hectares of rural land that currently belongs to state governments and is near their settlements, said Mr Jaafar Jantan, a spokesman for the government's Orang Asli Affairs Department.

'This is the first time in history that the Orang Asli will have land ownership titles,' Mr Jaafar said. 'It will help them to generate a good income and give them a better future.' The Orang Asli, which means 'Original People' in the Malay language, comprise 140,000 people from 18 ethnic tribes who are among Malaysia's poorest citizens. Most practice forms of animism, and many still live in or near the rainforest, where they hunt and grow crops.

Human rights activists have long complained that Orang Asli communities are often unfairly forced out of state-owned land to make way for development projects. Activists say the tribes deserve the titles to land that was occupied by their ancestors for thousands of years.

The land titles will likely be given to Orang Asli villagers by next year, Mr Jaafar said. Authorities plan to plant cash crops such as palm oil and rubber on land that the Orang Asli can eventually cultivate for their own income after several years, Mr Jaafar said. -- AP