Put education front and centre
There is no better strategy than education to improve the lives of the orang asli. THERE is a lot that bickering Peninsular Malaysians can learn from the country’s indigenous people as we continue our Malaysia Day festivities.
There is a total of some 80 ethno-linguistic groups on both sides of the pond – making up 13.9% of the 31 million total population of Malaysia – each with its own culture and territory, but the orang asal of Sabah and Sarawak and the orang asli of Peninsular Malaysia have found a way to not only learn more about each other, but also unite.
The outcome of their “union” is a stronger stand to improve their lives and defend their rights, especially in the struggle for their ancestral land rights.
This co-operation is especially benefiting the orang asli community, who are arguably trailing behind their Sabah and Sarawak brothers.
Senator in charge of orang asli affairs Senator Isa Ab Hamid, however, believes strongly that the united efforts will be more effective if they can work closely with the authorities and administration.
“As an orang asli senator, my duty is to fight for the rights and welfare of the orang asli, but in many issues, I believe we can achieve more if we co-operate with the Orang Asli Affairs Department (Jakoa), state governments, other relevant agencies and non-governmental organisations.
“I really think being antagonistic and confrontational will not resolve anything. It’s better if we sit down to discuss and work together to resolve the orang asli issues and concerns,” he says.
It’s no surprise, however, that many of the indigenous groups are resorting to memorandums and demonstrations to highlight their struggle; the socio-economic conditions of the orang asli have not changed as much as the other communities in Malaysia in the last five decades. They are losing more and more of their ancestral lands, which are their main source of livelihood, to public and private development projects.
Coming from the Kuala tribe, Isa says he can relate to both sides of the fence.
“From experience, I have seen how working together with the authorities can help, and as an orang asli myself, I think I understand where the orang asli are coming from and what we need as well as what we want for our future,” says the 49-year-old former Jakoa Pahang director who was sworn in as a senator in April this year.
Malaysia voted for the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of the Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) in 2007 – incidentally Sept 13 was the ninth anniversary since the UNDRIP was adopted – which establishes a universal framework of minimum standards for the survival, dignity, well-being and rights of the indigenous, including the collective right to ownership, use and control of lands and other natural resources.
This has pushed the indigenous communities of the peninsula, Sabah and Sarawak to actively work together to fight for their land rights with the launch of the Global Call to Action on Indigenous and Community Land Rights.
Isa, however, sees education as the main thrust of change or improvement and development for the orang asli.
“It could be partly because my background is education but if you see in any country, community or civilisation, their progress comes with education.”
Land rights issue is important, he concedes, as well as healthcare, the continuity of culture, tradition and economic activity (livelihood) but to him, education is key to the development of the orang asli.
“Still, whatever the perspective, the cause is the same: the welfare of the orang asli, that’s why I hope the communities can work together with the Government, NGOs and others towards that purpose.
“Especially as Vision 2020 draws near. The orang asli are still not prepared for it. They are still a long way off from that objective,” he notes.
One reason, he says is that they are still lagging behind in education and the illiteracy rate is still high; studies show up to 30% of orang asli children are still illiterate.
“The school dropout rate has declined though, but at 17.9% (it dropped from 20% last year), it is still high.
“And that is not the whole picture because it’s hard to get accurate statistics as some orang asli children move fluidly in and out of schools. For example, a child might drop out in Year Two but then go back to school in Year Four,” he says, adding that it is not necessarily due to the remoteness of the orang asli village.
“In Selangor and Johor where the orang asli community lives in urban areas, for example, the school dropout rate is still high. One reason is that many can’t get used to life in town.”