The Malaysian Insight

NIGHTS are pitch black for ethnic dance performer Maznah Uyan, 52, who has not been able to pay her electricity bills after being out of work because of the Covid-19 movement restrictions.

In her home in Kg Sg Bumbun on Pulau Carey, in Selangor, the Mah Meri Orang Asli woman said she has barely RM10 in her pocket.

“I cannot even buy soap to shower. I only eat the vegetables I plant outside my house,” she told The Malaysian Insight on a visit to two Orang Asli villages on Pulau Carey recently.

The Mah Meri, who rely on their skills as artisans and craftsmen, have been hit hard by the MCO and various stages of lockdown since March last year.

Best known for their weaving and wood carvings, they have not been able to sell their crafts to tourists and visitors to Pulau Carey because of movement restrictions.

Maznah was hopeful things would improve in September last year when interstate travel was allowed and her dance troupe performed in Penang.

She earned about RM500 from that gig.

“We thought things would get back to normal from then but it has just become worse.

“Prior to Covid-19 we could at least manage to get RM1,000 a month. But now, with no shows to perform and no one buying our handicraft, we can barely make RM50 a month.”

The current MCO is the second one since the first from mid-March to May last year and was imposed after a surge in Covid-19 cases despite having flattened the curve previously.

Health experts and business leaders have been urging Putrajaya to develop a comprehensive strategy to fight the pandemic, instead of having cycles of lockdowns, which have hit the economy.

Wood carver Mizan Hasan, 43, also from Kg Sg Bumbun, used to earn close to RM3,000 a month from selling wooden dolls.

With no tourists to buy his artwork, he earns some income picking oil palm fruits in his in-laws’ plantation, earning RM15 to RM20 a day.

“I have a family of five and earning up to RM600 a month is not enough as our monthly expenses itself can go up to RM1,700,” said Mizan.

In the next village, Kg Sg Judah, a fisherman named Bilet, 38, also worries about where he will find food for his family.

Fishing has become harder with no catch as many ships are parked out at sea off the shore of his village.

He has a small oil palm plantation but the earnings from there are meagre as it is low crop season.

“To be honest, I don’t even know whether I can provide food for my family tomorrow and the day after,” said Bilet.

Besides selling their crafts, the Orang Asli on Pulau Carey are also daily wage-earners from selling oil palm and rubber.

But movement restrictions have reduced the number of buyers, leaving them destitute. – February 3, 2021.