UM students experience Orang Asli life

AGROUP of third-year law students from Universiti of Malaya concluded their social engagement programme with the Orang Asli community in Desa Temuan, Selangor, recently. The objectives of the semester-long project were to give these students first-hand experience in taking part in the daily lives and to raise awareness on indegenous people.

For 10 weeks, the students engaged in activities, including teaching children with an emphasis on English proficiency, painting murals, planting trees, conducting gotong-royong and a cooking session for the local community.

The grand finale of the social engagement programme, themed “Hari Apresiasi Desa Temuan“, started with speeches by programme director Amiratu al-Amirat, the Orang Asli community‘s “Tok Batin“and programme facilitator Dr Nadhratul Wardah Salman, who is the deputy dean of the Faculty of Law.

Nadhratul Wardah expressed her satisfaction over the programme and considered it a great success.

She commended the students for being enthusiastic in engaging with the Orang Asli community and hoped their presence made an impact on the community.

“Such an experience could not be gained through studying law books in classrooms.

“Through this programme, these law students interacted with the community. I hope that aspiring lawyers will always be down-to-earth in their lives. Just like Eugen Ehrlich, an Austrian legal scholar, said ‘those who are responsible for the development of the legal order must appreciate the inner order of society‘.“

The ceremony continued with a native dance performance by Orang Asli children, who then performed a choral speaking session. They were taught by volunteer students. A lucky draw and awards were presented to the dedicated students from the community.