The Malaysian Insight

A DEADLY measles outbreak in Kampung Kuala Koh, Gua Musang, which claimed the lives of 15 Bateq tribe members, has opened the eyes of the people to the many problems plaguing the indigenous folk and the measures that ought to be taken to ensure their wellbeing.

On the fringe of the forest near Taman Negara, the Orang Asli are struggling to live as the forest on which they depend for food and sustenance is cut down by plantation, mining and logging companies. Left with no resources, the tribe depends on welfare aid.

Since the outbreak of disease on June 3 and until a quarantine was lifted on July 8, there have been 178 cases of what the Health Ministry has confirmed to be measles reported among the Orang Asli communities across three state lines – 147 in Kelantan, 23 in Terengganu and eight in Pahang.

Federation of Private Medical Practitioners’ Associations Malaysia president Dr Steven Chow said high levels of manganese were found in the water samples collected from the Bateq tribe’s water sources in the forest, the nearby river, and piped water from the village’s water source in Sungai Pertang.

Manganese levels tested out at 2.53mg/L, 12 times higher than the normal level of 0.2mg/L.

While Kampung Kuala Koh is no longer a red zone for measles, the village remains deserted with only 30 people at home and the rest of the 155 residents who were infected sequestered in temporary shelters in Gua Musang.

While most of Malaysia has enjoyed the trappings of wealth and progress in the more than 60 years since independence, the mass deaths and continued vulnerability of the Orang Asli in Kampung Kuala Koh are a grim reminder that modernisation has had a far less healthy impact on the lives of the indigenous people, who also suffer administrative neglect. – July 20, 2019.