Ministers no-show upsets Orang Asli
Aug 8, 05 12:07pm
They came from across the country to air their grouses and problems. But the 1,000 odd Orang Asli left disappointed when Rural and Regional Development Minister Abdul Aziz Shamsuddin failed to show-up.
Abdul Aziz had been slated to officiate the 15th annual general assembly of the Peninsular Malaysia Orang Asli Association (POASM) in Putrajaya yesterday.
We are very disappointed. Government officials have always been talking and talking, but are never brave enough to be up front with the Orang Asli community, said past POASM deputy-president Arif Embing when met.
Meanwhile, vice-president Melati Jamil expressed her disappointment in having let down the members who had traveled far to have an audience with the minister.
We didn't pay for their transportation costs. When they were told that the minister would officiate this AGM, they came by paying their own bus fares and other transportation costs, she said.
Malaysiakini learnt there was a death in the minister's family but he was expected to return to Kuala Lumpur
the same morning.
Change mindset
Earlier, in a speech read out by his political secretary, Abul Aziz said the government was committed to protect the interests of the Orang Asli.
For us, this is a responsibility that has to be carried out... we are highly committed to realise the aspirations of the government in ensuring the community share in the plans for development, he said.
The onus in realising such plans, he added, laid with the Orang Asli community as the government had provided sufficient facilities and amenities to facilitate their development.
As such, POASM is responsible to help the government in increasing the awareness and changing the mindset among the Orang Asli to accept development.
This is among the areas that we need to focus on while, at the same time, seeking physical development such as housing, roads, water and electricity, he said.
On the alarming rate of
Orang Asli children dropping out of school before reaching secondary level, the minister said there were 25,354 pupils registered at the primary level but only 7,559 were registered in secondary schools.
Does it have to do with inadequate facilities or a mindset that still does not stress on the importance of education? he asked.
Abdul Aziz also argued that the success of about 500 Orang Asli who had reached or completed tertiary education, with some acquiring PhDs, meant that others were just as capable.
Addressing the question as to why there was only one Orang Asli holding a management position in the Department of Orang Asli Affairs, he said this was not because the government was intentionally not according high positions to them.
Admittedly, there area many Orang Asli who have succeeded in graduating from institutions of higher learning. (But) those who had completed their studies ventured into other fields such as lecturing or engineering
(instead of applying to the department), he said.
The crux of it is, they must be interested in building and developing their communities themselves, he added. On the economic front, Abdul Aziz lamented the fact that 76 percent of the 29,873 Orang Asli households are categorised as poor, but promised that the ministry was in the midst of floating a proposal to the state governments involving the distribution of land to them.
At the same time, he added that the Orang Asli should be encouraged to seek additional sources of livelihoods to supplement their meager income and to break out of the cycle of poverty.
However, the speech failed to make up for his absence and the messages fell on cynical ears.
Raised many times
POASM past president 'Bah' Anthony Williams-Hunt said Abdul Aziz's absence was in
line generally with the government's general indifference to the plight of the Orang Asli community.
Frankly speaking, I'm not disappointed. It was in a way expected, he added.
Questioning the minister for blaming the Orang Asli for their socio-economic conditions, Tony noted that many proposals for the betterment of the community had long been presented to the authorities nothing has happened.
It simply defies logic that we would be opposed to development as he implies. What 'mindset' are they trying to change? The land issue, for example, has been highlightded for many years and we have proposed many solutions (but these have been ignored), he said.
On Orang Asli children dropping out from school, Tony said a comprehensive study should be done on the factors contributing to the large drop-out rate instead of lumping it simplistically and conveniently on parents.
Earlier in his speech, POASM president Majid Suhut raised the similar problem of
Orang Asli issues being placed on the back burner of the government's development plans.
Our community is behind in many aspects and there are many problems that we have discussed many times in past AGMs. Various objectives and decisions that been formulated and presented to the authorities.
We have not, however, seen any results, although we will not give up in asking for and pleading to the authorities in seeking ways to resolve such issues that have been and will be raised, he said.
Suhakam appalled by conditions for Orang Asli in Pahang
May 30, 05 6:05pm
A visit to Orang Asli villages in Pahang has left a Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) delegation stumped and furious over the lack of care and basic rights accorded to the indigenous peoples by relevant government agencies. Commissioner Prof Hamdan Adnan, who was in the group, urged the department of Orang Asli affairs (JHEOA), national registration department (NRD) and welfare department to take immediate steps to help the Orang Asli.
There are 4,000 children in the state without birth certificates. Thats a big figure. The fact that they have no birth certificates would almost make them stateless. The NRD should be more pro-active in registering these children, said Hamdan, who heads the complaints and inquiries committee.
The
two-day visit last week was initiated on the strength of complaints to Suhakam. Also in the delegation were vice-chairperson Simon Sipaun, commissioner Abdul Monir Yaacob, two officers and a guide.
Hamdan said departments like the NRD and JHEOA should be more flexible in meeting the needs of the Orang Asli, who are disadvantaged by poor transportation, access and finances.
Activist groups have for years been asking for registration of the Orang Asli to be conducted within settlements.
Main concerns
The delegation discovered that many Orang Asli children studying in primary schools have been placed in classes based on age rather than educational attainment.
For example, a 10-year-old may be placed in Year Four, even if he or she has not received any formal education prior to that.
Orang Asli students have been branded as performing badly in school. No wonder, with such practices in place. How can
someone who has not been to school be expected to become a top student immediately? Hamdan asked.
He said neither the children nor their parents could be faulted for the failure to enter the schooling system early or if the students drop out, since most schools are located far away from Orang Asli settlements.
For example, only 20 percent of Orang Asli children in the Kampung Bukit Solik Felcra scheme attend secondary school. Many drop out after primary school because of poor ability, inaccessible schools, poverty and the need for their help with agricultural work.
The Orang Asli also face difficulty in obtaining medical care. Hamdan related the case of Siyapek a/l Pakom, 34, of the Patik Jelutong settlement, who is paralysed from the neck downwards and who has been deprived of medical assistance.
He was hospitalised for 19 days at the Pekan Hospital around this time last year. He was discharged and returned to his hut, and has been left there. The
JHEOA is not bothered about him and nobody seems to care for him. His means of livelihood is gone, Hamdan said.
The commissioner said Suhakam would arrange for him to be admitted to the Kuantan Hospital.
We will also write to the welfare department to care for him and his family, said Hamdan, adding that the JHEOA will also be contacted about Suhakams concerns.
Suhakam has appealed to the government to assist Orang Asli traders who have to compete with business people who have encroached into the market for crops and game.
Special places should be set up for their (Orang Asli) business and the government should lend them a hand, Hamdan said.
At an Orang Asli conference in March, delegates identified weaknesses in the Orang Asli Act 1954 as a contributory factor to the communitys woes
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