The Malaysian Insight

LACK of autonomy over the land granted the government under a resettlement scheme was among the chief reasons Orang Asli chose to migrate and settle in Kampung Serpihan, said an activist.

Dr Colin Nicholas of the Centre for Orang Asli Concerns said most of the government’s regroupment schemes have failed for a number of reasons, including poor management and the residents not being given authority over the land.

“It is also due to the scheme’s poor development model,” he told The Malaysian Insight.

He said the resettlement schemes also failed to consider the Orang Asli way of life.

The resettlement scheme was first introduced in about 30 years ago as part of the government’s strategy to integrate the Orang Asli into mainstream communities and raise their socio-economic status.

Some Orang Asli were also resettled because their traditional villages had been acquired for development.

“When you’re under the regroupment or resettlement scheme, you take orders from a young officer and you have all these restrictions,” he said.

“You would think you had six acres of land but when you die, it is not guaranteed that this land will be passed down to your children,” he said.

In Pahang in 2019, the average income of an Orang Asli villager ranged between RM200 to RM800, which was well below the poverty line.

“And in some areas, for six months (in a year), they had no income,” he said.

“After 30 years and you’re still getting this kind of income, what do you expect the Orang Asli to do? So now many Orang Asli families do not participate in this scheme because there’s just not enough land,” he said.

Under the resettlement scheme, many Orang Asli have been made to resettle on estates where they are given several acres of land to look after and receive dividends every month. With this, they would also receive basic access such as roads, electricity and water.

However, most of the Orang Asli are not satisfied with the acquisition and resettlement by the government.

Among the reasons include encroachment on rights and heritages which affects the cultures, inadequate compensation, unfulfilled promises to protect their interests, unsuitable resettlement location, loss of place to practice traditional lifestyle, loss of traditional jobs and skills, integration problems, difficulties in adjusting to new environment and short evacuation notice.

Colin said there are more than 300 Kampung Serpihan villages with some 15,000 Orang Asli.

Pak Soh, 44, who lives in a Kampung Serpihan in Pekan, Pahang, told The Malaysian Insight that he moved out of a plantation to live on barren land in order to be able to build homes for his family and farm for food.

“As our family grow, we will have to build houses for them, and with six acres, it really does not leave us much room to grow anything,” he said.

“We, the Orang Asli, love to farm but how do we do that when we don’t have enough land?”

Pak Soh said there were about 10 families in his old village who had opted to move because they needed more land.

The Orang Asli are known to be highly attached to their traditions and the land they live off. They tend to live in a community led by the hereditary headman.

Although they live a nomadic lifestyle, some have chosen to put down roots.

Usually, once an Orang Asli family breaks away from the resettlement scheme and settles in a village not recognised by the Orang Asli Welfare Department (Jakoa), they will be deprived of basic needs such as roads, electricity, clean water supply, and access to education.

This means that in times of crisis, such as the Covid-19 pandemic, Kampung Serpihan residents are likely to be sidelined in matters of rescue and relief.

More often than not, this group of outliers would have to depend on the kindness of the public for help.

No help from Jakoa

Pak Nordin, 38, who lives in another breakaway village, said the only time Jakoa ever helped the villagers was when it installed a well, which only lasted a few months before it broke down and was never fixed.

“That was the only time they helped us,” he said, adding that his village relied on welfare organisations for aid.

Nordin and nearby villagers also suffer from leprosy and they lack a clean water source.

Pak Endang, 53, another Kampung Serpihan resident, said the villagers have tried reaching out to Jakoa for help but have been met with excuses.

“I have asked several times but they’re always telling me that they’re not sure if my village is under Jakoa jurisdiction, so eventually I stopped asking,” he said.

Endang and his family used to have only polluted pond water as their water source and they did not have electricity until a local welfare group installed a water tank and solar energy equipment for them.

The Malaysian Insight visited the breakaway villages in Rompin and Pekan and found that most of them do not have roads, clean water, electricity, or schools. Many of the villagers work odd jobs and are paid by the day.

However, the majority of them do have ample land on which they grow vegetables and fruits to sell and for their own consumption.

There are 217,000 Orang Asli people in Malaysia, most of them living in Perak and Pahang.

More than a third of Orang Asli live in hardcore poverty in villages lacking basic amenities such as roads, sanitation, and clean water. – January 30, 2022.